Because That is What I Wish
by Magi1
Summary: This is an alternate ending for the manga. Starts about vol. 5. (I've revised chapter 17 and changed my format.))
1. The Roads That I Travel

Part 1: Roads  
  
Chapter 1: The Road That I Travel  
  
Author's notes: This is set in the manga, things will be different from the anime. Be warned! Also, it is specifically my rewriting of the ending. I thought that it would be interesting to find out what crazy thing would happen if Hikaru had gotten captured when she entered Eagle's road in vol. 5. If you don't know what I'm talking about, e-mail me and all will become clear! Thank you! And, *sigh*, I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth. (Side Rant: Debonair and Nova don't exist.)  
  
Also, -chan is an endearing term usually used for someone your age or younger, and it is mainly used for girls.  
  
-San is a respectful title, can be used for either a girl or a boy.  
  
-Sama is a formal titles, can also be used for either a man or a woman.  
  
The Mashin are what they call the "Rune-Gods" in the anime.  
  
^_^ Magi  
  
(This fic. is dedicated to my dear friends, Peach Goddess and Deborah, my all your fondest dreams come true!)  
  
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Hikaru stared at the three glowing roads hanging in space in front of her. She sighed; they were in their Mashins having just fought with Fahren. Hikaru was tired, hurt, and intensely curious.  
  
I didn't know that you could use your own road to stop someone else's road. Clef didn't tell us about that, maybe he didn't know. Hikaru paused a moment, wondering.  
  
I know it can't be Fahren that pierced the other roads, Umi just battled with them. It has to be Autozam or Chizeta, but which?  
  
Her curiosity warred with her good sense. Reaching a decision, she dashed forward before Umi or Fuu could stop her.  
  
"Hikaru! Wait, you can't go into that road! Hikaru!" Umi called behind her, trying to stop her apparently suicidal friend from hurting herself.  
  
Hikaru wasn't going to listen, she would get into the road, whoever was building it had just broken into two others, she could break into one.  
  
I will do this. Hikaru thought as she ran up against the road.  
  
The strain was incredible. Everything turned upside-down for a few moments as Hikaru battled with the glowing exterior of the road. With as with a sucking noise, the Mashin broke through.  
  
One minute Hikaru was straining against the road, the next, floating in a glowing tube.  
  
So this is a road. Hikaru thought as she looked around. But what is that?  
  
"That" was a green and white spaceship that appeared to be hanging there in the road.  
  
I guess that this is what the people are using to invade Cephiro, who-ever they are. It looks like a space ship. I wonder where these people are from? Why would they want Cephiro and its pillar system? Endless questions ran through her head, as she looked the strange craft over.  
  
I've never seen anything quite like it. Wait! There are people in that dome! That must be the control room!  
  
Hikaru grinned, now she could see just whom she was attacking. She could also tell where the weaker spot would be. Where as they would have to guess, although any damage done to the Mashin would hurt her too, nothing is perfect.  
  
But. if I hit the control tower, will I kill people? Will I murder more people?  
  
Her disquieting thoughts were interrupted as a torrent of glowing ropes shot out from the ship.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
As Hikaru battled with herself and her memories of Emeraude and Zagato, the crew of the NSX pulled itself together. Geo began shouting orders as Eagle took a few moments to recover from the after-shocks of punching through two roads.  
  
"Zazu, I want you to try and get a closer look at that thing, see if it's got any weapons other than the sword. Defenses at full alert, I want you to use the Energy Lashes, let's try to keep it from getting closer. Come on people! Let's move!" snapping orders, Geo ran the crew with an iron hand and a general's mind.  
  
"Geo, I want the Knight brought in alive," Eagle's quiet voice stopped Geo from giving any more orders.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I said, I want the Magic Knight alive. Not dead. See if you can pull it in with the energy lashes."  
  
"Eagle, that hasn't been done before! It could end up killing the Magic Knight anyway!" Zazu stated, looking up from his computer.  
  
"We'll try it anyway," Eagle was the commander, his word was law. Like it or not, the crew would follow his orders.  
  
"All right then. Defenses! Keep the beams on as low a power as you can! Try and drag it into the left hanger. Number three, it has the best defenses," Geo began to bark at the crew again, sending them scurrying to obey.  
  
Then he turned to watch as the Magic Knight battled the energy whips.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru was panicking. The glowing rope-like things were all around her now, pulling at her, trying to drag her to the ship.  
  
Damn it all! There are too many of them! I won't be able to get rid of all of them! And I'm still tired from entering the road.  
  
The truth was, she was exhausted. After entering Eagle's road she could barely keep chopping at the beams, much less use magic and burn them all.  
  
If I don't do something fast, I'm not going to make it out of this.  
  
She ground her teeth in desperation as the whips burned another bit of her armor.  
  
Hikaru started to see sparks as a lash managed to wrap around her neck.  
  
This is it! She raised her sword over her head and screamed out her last resort, not caring if it could kill her.  
  
  
  
"Fire Arrow!!" Flames engulfed the beams and they loosened, some breaking free altogether.  
  
Hikaru gasped, able to breathe again, and sank to her knees, defeated. She didn't even notice as the remaining beams began to tow her to the ship. Her sword faded, no longer needed.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Zazu stared apprehensively as the armor of the Mashin began to burn away, sizzling where the ropes gripped it.  
  
If the armor burns off, it will permanently damage it. I hope Eagle knows what he's doing. Guilty for doubting his friend, Zazu tore his eyes off the screen and looked at him.  
  
Eagle was watching the battle, patient and calm. Nothing seemed to surprise him, not even when the Knight resorted to magic. While everyone else was holding their breaths, waiting for the smoke and flames to clear, he was calmly waiting.  
  
The smoke finally cleared, revealing what appeared to be an unconscious Mashin being dragged into the left hanger. Eagle began to walk out, Geo followed him, Zazu followed Geo, and a few of the guards followed him.  
  
I really hope Eagle knows what he's doing!  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Eagle walked quietly, but quickly down the hall.  
  
I know that's the same Knight I fought with before. I wonder how it broke into my road? How could it? It must be either that it has a stronger mental force than I do, or I was just too drained to protect it properly. That has to be it. It has to be. He continued asking unanswerable questions all the way to the left hanger.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru was aware that she couldn't keep the Mashin with her for too much longer. She was hurt and needed medical aid and a warm bed soon. The whip things had burned her and half throttled her in their battle, she wouldn't last that long in a fight.  
  
Rayearth, help me now, She thought as the Mashin faded, dumping her on the cold metal. Please, I need your help!  
  
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Eagle watched curiously as the Mashin began to fade, vanishing in a crackle of flames. As he and his guards cautiously approached it, it disappeared completely, leaving a small, red-haired girl falling to the ground.  
  
That's a Magic Knight? That little girl? She can't be more than 13! But then again, the Magic Knights sounded young when I fought with them before. Maybe I wasn't wrong in my assumptions. His train of thought was broken as the girl in question opened glazed eyes. Well, I don't think she'll be going anywhere for awhile.  
  
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Hikaru slowly opened her eyes. They wouldn't seem to focus properly but she could make out many boots coming towards where she lay. Panic almost overwhelmed her but she forced it down.  
  
Looks like this is it. I wish Umi and Fuu were with me.  
  
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Eagle continued walking forward even as the girl tried to move. She wouldn't be able to; the battle had taken a larger toll than he thought it had if she wasn't able to keep her Mashin present in the physical dimension. But he stopped as she began to glow.  
  
It was a crimson glow that started at her hands and began to wash over her body. The Autozam troops drew back as she opened her mouth.  
  
"Sc-scarlet Lightning." the words faded off of her lips but weak tendrils of red lightning flickered outward to her opponents, almost, but not quite reaching them.  
  
Even as the bolts faded, the girl's eyes closed and she winced, collapsing again.  
  
"Sorry. Rayearth. but this time. I'm just not strong enough." Eagle started toward her again, and her outstretched hand seemed to burst into flame.  
  
The flames rose higher, swirling protectively around her and growing brighter. As they did so, a form seemed to take shape in them, and they faded, leaving a powerful, angry spirit behind.  
  
"Who are you who dare to harm my knight?" it demanded thunderously. "What business do you have here?"  
  
Eagle stared at it, for once completely taken aback. But before he could begin to open his mouth in reply, the Knight spoke.  
  
"Rayearth? I. need a favor from you."  
  
"What is it you want?" the beast turned back to her, his eyes softening.  
  
"I want you to leave. go and tell Umi and Fuu. where I am. I will. manage. I will manage." Her voice was soft, almost inaudible, only Eagle and Rayearth could hear it.  
  
"If that is what you wish."  
  
"That. is . what I wish. I would not. last the trip back. anyway. Go."  
  
"I will go, because that is what you want," he turned back to Eagle and his troops. "But know this, humans, if any harm befalls her than you would be better off to leave. Or face my wrath." Rayearth turned and vanished, leaving Hikaru behind.  
  
. 


	2. Waiting Games

Chapter 2: Waiting Games  
  
Eagle sat by the Magic Knight's bed, waiting patiently for her to wake up. He knew it could be an hour or a day before she awoke. The NSX's defenses were hard to beat after a good night's rest, when you were half dead already it was impossible.  
  
Eagle sat there considering. Geo's going to get the Princesses of Fahren and Chizeta online soon so I'll need to leave her here. Should I have Zazu watch her or let her wake up or sleep on her own? Zazu would be mad if I made him miss out on the action. And Geo will want to be there too.  
  
I guess she probably won't wake up while I'm gone. She'll be too weak to do any damage anyway. We took her armor, and Lantis said something about the armor of Cephiro storing the weapons, so no problem there. The only thing that could hurt anyone would be her magic and from what I saw last time it costs to use magic in a wounded state.  
  
Geo's head popped into the room, interrupting his commander's thoughts.  
  
"Eagle? We've established communications with the Dream Child and the Bravada. Would you like to talk to them now or later?"  
  
"Now is fine," Eagle got up his chair and left the room, softly shutting the door behind him.  
  
"But, what about the Magic Knight?" Geo asked, looking back at the door as they walked away, concerned over the fact that Eagle hadn't even locked the door.  
  
"I doubt she'll even be able to get out of bed." Eagle didn't even pause as he walked away.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hikaru's eyes opened slowly as the door shut behind the two men. She'd been awakened by their voices but had decided it would be better to wait to try and open her eyes at all. Trying to move proved extremely difficult as her muscles screamed in agony.  
  
Deciding that getting up wouldn't be much of an option until she had more rest; Hikaru tried to move her head to look around.  
  
Moving herself ever so slightly to the right she saw a chair and the door. On her left was a nightstand with a glass of water.  
  
Water would be nice. But Hikaru decided that it would be better to try and sit up than try and pick up the glass of water.  
  
As she tried to sit up, Hikaru came to two conclusions: That she hurt too much to be dead and hurt enough to wish she were dead. Finally succeeding in propping herself up on the pillows, Hikaru continued to think about what she should do.  
  
Fuu would do something to attract attention and figure out some way of leaving once she had information. Umi would try to fight and blast her way out. I think I'll wait and see. Hikaru's eyes drifted softly closed and she fell back asleep, content with her strategy of waiting.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Eagle fairly ran down the hall, quite pleased with himself. He had captured the invaders from the other worlds, and a Magic Knight. He'd also given the other countries a choice, "Go home and I'll release you, stay and fight me and Cephiro." Now they had eight hours before the Dream Child and the Bravada would have to answer. He really was happy with how the day was going.  
  
When he reached the Knight's room the first thing he noticed was that she had managed to prop herself up, the second was that she had gone back to sleep.  
  
Oh, well, it would have been nice not to wait anymore but I can wait a while longer. If she's woken up this soon than she must be stronger than I thought. I could have sworn that she wouldn't wake up for another hour or two. I guess I'll take a nap for a while, she won't take too long to wake up.  
  
Zazu peered in from the doorway.  
  
"Eagle? Geo wanted you to know that since we've got eight hours he's getting me something to drink. Is that okay?" Zazu looked at his commander hopefully.  
  
"As long as this time you don't go running around the halls singing 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow' in a drunken frenzy like last time. I had to make all sorts of excuses for you, it was almost impossible to convince my father that we couldn't afford to lose you," Eagle glared at the little mechanic, reinforcing his words.  
  
"Okay. Umm. Sorry about that one, Eagle, it wasn't intentional." Zazu winced at the memories of the riot act that he had been read. He was lucky, another commander might not have been as lenient.  
  
"It's all right, you should go now and tell Geo I said it was okay," Eagle smiled at Zazu and turned back to the girl on the bed. Only to find her wide crimson eyes glaring at him.  
  
"Eagle? What's the matter?" Zazu had heard Eagle gasp.  
  
"Zazu, go get Geo, bring him here." Eagle didn't even away from the Knights eyes.  
  
"O-okay." Zazu dashed off, assuming that the Knight was either awake, dying, or something.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hikaru swore every bad word she had ever heard her brothers use under her breath.  
  
Damn! If he hadn't woken me up I would have had more time. Oh well, at least I'll find out what they want. She thought as she glared into the deep golden eyes that looked back at her.  
  
Wonderful, is he going to talk and tell me what I'm doing here? That stare of his is slightly disconcerting...  
  
It wasn't with some small amount of apprehension that Hikaru waited for the other to speak. And when he did, she slightly relaxed.  
  
"Would you like some water?" his voice was soft, calming.  
  
Hikaru unbent enough to nod carefully, wincing as she moved her bruised muscles. He stood up and went around the bed, over to the nightstand she had noticed earlier. Handing her the water he watched as a small, shaking hand grasped it carefully and lifted it to her lips.  
  
I guess I really will have to wait and see. Hikaru was confused, he hadn't even told her his name yet, but was already acting like one of her older brothers. Unhappily, she shook off her confusion and sipped the water, keeping an eye on him the whole time.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Eagle watched as the girl drank, noticing that she watched him warily, looking slightly confused.  
  
What odd eyes; I've never seen anyone with such red eyes before. He considered what to do while waiting for Geo to come back. I'll wait and see if she'll relax enough to give me a chance to ask her name her name before I ask her anything else. 


	3. How?

Chapter 3: How.?  
  
Umi and Fuu waited outside the road, staring at it as if they could draw their friend back out that way. After their first startled reactions at Hikaru being admitted into the road they had waited for her to be blasted back out. When she wasn't, they had demanded the spirits to tell them why. The only answer was that the road was blocking them from speaking to Rayearth.  
  
That had gotten them even more panicked. Umi had tried to enter the road then, and been thrown back about twenty yards. They hadn't tried to enter after that. Now, all they could do was wait.  
  
"Umi-chan? I think we should go back to the castle now," Fuu was worried, but now she was beginning to analyze the situation in her usually calm and detached manner. "I do not think Hikaru-chan will be coming out anytime soon."  
  
"No."  
  
"Umi-chan, Clef-san will need to know what happened. There is no more time to waste here, there is nothing we can do."  
  
"No."  
  
"But-"  
  
"No."  
  
They went back to staring at the road in silence. Neither one spoke for a long time, and  
  
when they did, it was cries of astonishment as Rayearth in his animal form came tearing angrily out of the road.  
  
"Hikaru is wounded," it was a flat statement; Rayearth showed no emotion as he said it.  
  
"How?!" both girls immediately crowded around him, rushing forward.  
  
"It takes a great deal of power, mental and physical to enter a road. Hikaru was fortunate that the enemy was not prepared, otherwise it could have killed her. The power to pierce two roads is rare. Autozam's commander is either very lucky or very powerful, or both. She was fortunate that they appear to want her alive, she could have been killed."  
  
"Will she be all right? I'm gonna kill her when I see her again, that idiot!" Umi's concern was written all over her face.  
  
"Is there a way to get her out?" Fuu's calm voice quietly drew their attention.  
  
"She will be all right, I would know if she were dying. But I do not think we can get her out. Not without Autozam releasing her first. You should go back to the castle, I must speak with my brothers. There could be something we can do." Rayearth began to fade.  
  
"Rayearth-sama is correct, Umi-chan, we are of no use here. And Clef-san might be able to do something," Fuu looked at Umi calmly. "We can not help Hikaru-chan here."  
  
"You're right, Fuu. Let's go back." Umi reluctantly turned and, because Rayearth intimidated her just a little bit, sped away from the road, Fuu following close behind.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Ten minutes later they were back in the castle, Umi pacing worriedly as Fuu explained what had happened to Clef and the others.  
  
I can't believe Hikaru did something that stupid! How could she? It was stupid of me not to try to follow her immediately. If I had maybe I- "Maybe you'd be stuck there too." An annoying little voice smirked from the back of her mind. If I'd been there maybe we could have made it! Who knows! "Well, you didn't and now you can give all the excuses you want."  
  
"Young women from another world, we have found a way to speak to Hikaru." The spirits voices' broke into their thoughts.  
  
"How?!" Umi and Fuu leaped up, startling Clef, Ferio, and Presea, who couldn't hear the spirits.  
  
"It would take too long to explain, but it will hurt you greatly. The simplest explanation is that we will be able to use our powers to send parts of your souls into the road. You can find Hikaru easily, it will look like part of the ship is on fire. In the center will be Hikaru."  
  
"We'll do it!" they said at exactly the same time, Fuu back to the others,  
  
"The spirits have found a way to let us speak to Hikaru!"  
  
"What?!" three startled faces stared at them.  
  
"I'll explain later," Fuu closed her eyes. "Stand back."  
  
"We are ready. Do whatever you need to do." Fuu spoke for both of them as they stepped away from the group. In a few moments, they began to glow with an odd yellow glow, the light swirled around them, hiding them from sight.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
She was watching him tensely as she drank her water, waiting for him to say something else. He started to speak when she suddenly screamed, scaring Eagle into taking a step backwards. Geo and Zazu opened the door, very cautiously.  
  
The Knight was floating over the bed, apparently in great pain. The glass of water had fallen from her limp grasp to shatter on the floor. Swirling around her was an strange yellow light that changed to green and blue as they watched.  
  
The light began to fade, dropping her back on the bed, but now two indistinct, ghost like green and blue forms were hovering over her. Eagle watched as they solidified a bit, showing them to be two young girls dressed in weird clothes and armor.  
  
Who or what are they?! And how the Hell did they get here?  
  
"Umi? Fuu?" Hikaru's voice faded as she stared at them in shock.  
  
Eagle was just as confused as she was.  
  
Could those be. the other Magic Knights? That would make sense.  
  
The green one smiled and gestured, and looked like she was talking.  
  
"Oh. oh, I see," the Magic Knight smiled suddenly, her whole face lighting up. "But how long do you have?"  
  
The blue one butted in suddenly, frowning and glaring, appearing to be telling her off.  
  
"But- Umi-chan." her voice faded as the other looked ready to explode. "I'm fine! Really! I'll be all right. That's not true!" she looked indignant as the other shook her head and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. The green girl smiled and laughed at them, shaking her head.  
  
"You're right, Fuu, that's completely off subject." The blue girl frowned as the yellow began to swirl around them again, "See if you can talk to Rayearth for me, I can't seem to be able to! I'll see you both later," she smiled again. Frowning, the blue girl began to protest again, but she disappeared in a flash of yellow light. The other nodded, waved and vanished, leaving a happy Hikaru and three very confused men behind.  
  
The girl looked at them, standing as if they had all been hit over the head with a 2x4. She giggled and said, "Oh, I forgot about you." she frowned suddenly, looking serious as she considered whether she should explain or not.  
  
Uh-oh! Now I'll have to find some way of explaining this. They would have to be in here when Umi and Fuu show up. Hikaru sighed; this wasn't going to be easy. 


	4. Partial Explanations

1 Author's note: I've heard that in the anime they did this odd thing with Emeraude's crown being "proof of the Pillar" or something. Not in the manga, in the manga it was the road to the Pillar. Only the Pillar knew where the road was. Once you found the road, you had to be able to enter it, travel it, pass a test, and come back. If more than one person could go down the road, one of them would fail the test, therefore, which ever hadn't passed had to disappear.  
  
2  
  
3 Chapter 4: Partial Explanations  
  
Hikaru frowned at them, searching for an explanation that would satisfy them and also answer her questions.  
  
Hey! Maybe I could say, 'Hi! My friends and I would like you to leave. You see, we're discussing how to get me out of here and we really would like some privacy.' Oh yeah, that's really going to convince them to leave! Hikaru smiled wryly, thinking about what their faces would look like if she did ask them that.  
  
How am I going to get answers to my questions if they're the ones interrogating me? This is not good.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Eagle waited for the girl to come out of her thoughts.  
  
She seems to have relaxed a little bit; she was smiling a few minutes ago.  
  
But before he could ask any questions Geo jumped in.  
  
"Who were they?" he asked abruptly, startling the girl out of her thoughts.  
  
"I'm sorry, what was that?" she shook her head, as if to shake off her thoughts.  
  
"Those girls, who were they? And who are you anyway?"  
  
"I am Magic Knight Hikaru Shido, those were my friends, the other two Magic Knights, Umi Ruuyzaki and Fuu Hououji," Hikaru frowned at him, "And who are you?" A hint of disrespect entered her tone, as though she did not exactly approve of his gruff manner.  
  
"Geo Metro."  
  
"Pleased to meet you, Geo-sama," I'm starting to sound like Fuu. Hikaru thought, as she looked expectantly at the other two.  
  
"I am Eagle of Autozam, and this is Zazu Torque." Recognition sped across Hikaru's face at his name.  
  
"I thought you sounded familiar." She muttered to herself.  
  
So, this is Autozam's spaceship. He must be the one who was in, what did Umi call it? The white-robot-thingy? That was it. I guess this isn't too bad, I'm stuck in the road of the man who is perhaps good enough to beat me, and he seems to know a lot about us Magic Knights as it is. What more could he want to know?  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Eagle watched her carefully, trying to tell what approach to take with this girl. She seemed a bit afraid of Geo, had disregarded Zazu as a threat and wasn't sure where to put him.  
  
Well, it looks like she's better, not well enough to get out of bed, but well enough to talk. I'll have to get rid of Geo though, if I want any chance of talking to her normally, I'd better make sure he doesn't break in and scare her again.  
  
"Geo, why don't you and Zazu go get your drinks?" he looked at Geo. Geo glared back. Eagle raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other man to back down as he had to.  
  
"Fine, come on Zazu." They left, closing the doors behind them. Eagle turned back to Hikaru. She looked at him, puzzled.  
  
I just can't figure him out. I would have sworn he'd keep the other two in here for back up. Oh well, I guess I don't look like much of a threat right now anyway. But still, you'd think.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Fuu collapsed on the floor, looking like she had run for five days straight and hadn't stopped once. Umi wasn't any better.  
  
So, that's where Hikaru is. She seems to be better. I just hope that nobody was in there when we showed up, I couldn't tell, but I think there might have been. But now that we can talk to Hikaru, maybe we can find a less painful way of doing so. Fuu stirred a bit and looked up, straight into the face of a very upset looking Ferio.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru was waiting for him to talk, once again.  
  
He seems to spend too much time thinking, which is not very satisfactory if you want answers. But I shouldn't be talking look what I've been doing for the last hour and a half. Hikaru was completely prepared to wait him out.  
  
If he really is the same man in the robot, why didn't he kill me? He could of. I'm sure of it. He's had the chance to seriously hurt me before, but stopped because Lantis showed up. Why stop this time? Someone who wants to be the Pillar and knows what the Magic Knights are for should want to get rid of them, right? I don't understand.  
  
She was so wrapped up in thinking she wasn't paying much attention to him. She looked up as he sat down, watching her.  
  
"Would you care to tell me about it?" his voice held sympathy as he looked at her.  
  
"What?" Hikaru was confused. What was he talking about now?  
  
"The battle," they both knew which one he was talking about.  
  
Hikaru stared at him coldly; she wasn't going to pour out her heartaches to a complete stranger, who just so happened to be an enemy as well, even if she thought he wasn't so bad.  
  
So, he knows the legend behind us doesn't he? Is it that obvious that that battle scarred us? How can he tell? Did Lantis tell him when he was there? Did they know each other? I wonder. Hikaru thought of an idea.  
  
"If you tell me why you want to become the Pillar, I will tell you what happened." Hikaru was hoping he'd say no, she didn't want to go into what really occurred that day.  
  
It won't happen again, not ever again. But if we don't get another Pillar, Cephiro will crumble. What can we do? What is there we should do? Once we find the road to the Pillar, what will happen?  
  
"All right, it is fair," he had taken a while to answer and was obviously reluctant to agree. "But you first."  
  
"Okay." Hikaru launched into her story, starting with Tokyo Tower and continuing until they were sent back. By the time she was half way through she was holding back tears. When she was done, she was almost at the breaking point. It was only her determination to keep from crying in front of him that kept her from giving it up.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Oh dear, she looks like she's going to start crying. I hope that doesn't happen.  
  
Eagle wasn't very experienced in handling girls who suddenly burst into tears. He was even further distressed when she turned away from him and looked like she was going to do just that.  
  
In a few moments she looked back at him, her eyes shining with tears held back. Hikaru was obviously upset, and wasn't going to be able to hold in her feelings for very much longer.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Why can't he leave? Right now I don't care; I want to be alone. I want to sort this out on my own, without him seeing me like this.  
  
"Please go away," Hikaru wasn't going to be able to hold in very much longer, she kept hearing Princess Emeraude's voice in her head begging them to kill her. "Please? I just want to be left alone."  
  
"No." Hikaru looked up, surprised and angry. 


	5. A Different Sort of Vision

Chapter 5: A Different Sort Vision  
  
Hikaru was becoming angrier, he wasn't showing any sign of wanting to go away. All she really wanted was to be alone; not even getting back to Cephiro took precedence to sorting out her feelings, alone. Hikaru was about ready to using magic to blast him out of the room when the door opened. The short, rumpled looking kid stuck his head in.  
  
"Geo wants you, Eagle," he said respectfully, as if he could stop them from glaring at him by being polite.  
  
"I'll be down in a few moments," Eagle waited until the mechanic was gone before turning back to Hikaru. "There is more water on the table behind you, if you need anything, call. There will be somebody within earshot at all times." He left; cloak swishing behind him as the door snapped shut.  
  
1 I bet there'll be somebody in earshot. Probably armed and ready for me to try to get out, oh yes, there will definitely be someone right outside the door. Hikaru tried to ignore the lonely feeling of the room. You wanted to be alone. She had to remind herself.  
  
To distract herself from the pessimistic thoughts brought on by the fact that she could hardly bear to be alone in a strange room anymore, she reached out with a little difficulty and grasped the water glass. Surprised she could move without screaming she cautiously tried to move out of the bed. It didn't work she discovered this as her legs protested at any and all movement in the painful manner.  
  
I guess my legs are still sore from that fight. Well, I was hit pretty hard, but I guess I'm still too tired to be walking much anyway. Shaking off her depressing thoughts, Hikaru lifted the glass of water to her lips, looking at it thoughtfully. They could decide that I'm too much trouble and poison me. But. I don't think he would. no, she wasn't going to think about that either.  
  
Surprised that she actually trusted the odd, golden eyed man who had managed to defeat her, Hikaru drank without thinking, trying to escape her disturbing thoughts. Feeling no ill affects from the water, she drank again, this time a bit more cautiously.  
  
She sipped the water thoughtfully; it had a harsh metallic taste, making her grimace. She hadn't really paid attention to it the first time she had drunk it, being too tired to really even notice it. It was amazing how different the water tasted in different places. The first time they went to Cephiro the water had tasted pure, pure and cold. Now that water tasted bitter. But here the water tasted more like the water one got out of the sink, metallic and sterile.  
  
Guess I'll be here a while yet. She put the water glass back on its table before lying back down to sleep. I'm more tired than I thought. Oh well he won't be back for a while. Her head rested lightly on the pillow, and Hikaru fell softly back into sleep.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Eagle found Geo and Zazu waiting in the meeting room, Geo was tapping his fingers impatiently and fiddling with his computer. Geo looked up when his commander entered, ceasing his annoying tapping.  
  
"Is she asleep yet?" he asked bluntly, surprising Eagle.  
  
"No. She wasn't when I left. should she be?" he asked suspiciously, Geo and Zazu's uncomfortable looks made him glare at them. "Out with it, you two. What is it that you didn't tell me?"  
  
"Well." Geo was looking very uncomfortable.  
  
"I thought you knew, Eagle," said Zazu, looking innocently back at him. "We put gentince in her water." Eagle stared at him, aghast.  
  
Gentince was a powerful drug that, when used properly, could be used to send the victim into a trance-like sleep. After that, once awoken, the subject would have no mental barriers. In other words, you could ask them any question you liked and they would tell you anything, anything. After that, they wouldn't remember they would recall going to sleep nothing else.  
  
Invented by Autozam's best, gentince was the perfect thing for interrogating enemies. It was almost too good to be true, and that was why there was one catch. If the person took in too much, or they were subjected to it for a long period of time, the person could lose most or all memory of what happened to them before going to sleep.  
  
If that happens to the Magic Knight. well, it is highly unlikely unless Geo had forgotten they were using it on a small girl, not an older, stronger person who would be less susceptible to the drug. Eagle didn't want to think about what would happen if they had.  
  
"Next time you want to do something as foolish as that, you will tell me first. Then you will double-check your measurements. Then you will recheck them. And only then will you give it to the prisoner. I do not want anything like this to occur again, do you understand?" Eagle's voice was calm and cold.  
  
Usually he would glare at them and threaten to send them back to Autozam. But then he would always smile in his friendly manner and forgive them after a few moments of fuming. This time he glared at them so fiercely that Geo was actually a little scared of him.  
  
His point made Eagle turned and left, his shoes clicking on the metal hallway. Geo and Zazu stared after him, not a little confusedly. Eagle himself was confused at his behavior. He had never been so close to losing his control in public before, not even when his mother had died. Rather frightened that the small Knight could affect him in such a way, he headed toward her room, knowing that Geo and Zazu would follow behind very shortly.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Hikaru saw only a fine gray mist, nothing else was real at the moment. When Princess Emeraude appeared to her, floating and insubstantial, she didn't feel any regret, only a quiet kind of peace. Emeraude was smiling, and smiling fully, her eyes were no longer as sad as they used to be. But when she saw Hikaru her eyes looked unhappy and she almost seemed to be guilty.  
  
"Oh, Magic Knight, I am so sorry," Emeraude said when she had come near enough to be heard. Hikaru shook her head, puzzled.  
  
"Why should you be sorry? We were the ones who hurt you," she still felt slightly detached, like her sorrow was hovering just on the edge of her emotional consciousness.  
  
"No. I have caused you more grief than ever. You helped me to have my wish, it was not your fault." Hikaru looked unhappy, it was true, they both knew it. But Hikaru would always have a sense of guilt when she thought about it, no matter what Emeraude said. Still her feelings seemed unreal, too hazy to affect her.  
  
"And now, now, your grief has caused you to be here. Here you will find a great challenge. But you can overcome it if you have the strength of heart." Hikaru frowned, she remembered someone else asking her something, something about her heart and its strength. She couldn't remember it, it seemed so far away, too far away. Emeraude's voice faded, growing softer as she and the mist blackened.  
  
"Remember, Magic Knight Hikaru Shido, you can overcome this challenge. But you first you must learn what you can. You will understand what I mean when the time comes. But you cannot lose hope, you cannot." Hikaru's vision went dark, the words of Princess Emeraude fading as they were spoken. Her mind went black too, and nothing penetrated that darkness for a long time.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Eagle waited, he couldn't start until he knew how much time they had before she would come out of the trance induced by the gentince. Geo and Zazu entered a few minutes after him, looking carefully at him to see if he was still mad at them. His face showed no expression as he looked at them expectantly.  
  
Zazu looked at the glass of water on the small table. The Knight had drunk about a fourth of the water, which gave them about two hours. Zazu considered fast. If they had spent an hour or so waiting for her to wake up and talk to Eagle then they had seven more hours before the other countries would answer. That gave them plenty of time to question the Knight and do whatever else needed to be done. He spoke.  
  
"She'll be in the trance for two hours. That gives us about five hours 'till the Dream Child and the Bravada answer," Eagle nodded, it was about what he had figured.  
  
"Then let us begin," he said, turning his back on them, they all looked at the Knight. 


	6. Questions and Answers

1 Chapter 6: Questions and Answers  
  
Hikaru awoke to the sound of her name being called. It was a quiet voice that commanded he attention, dragging her out of the peaceful shadows that surrounded her and pulled her back to wakefulness. She opened her eyes to see three men watching her, she had seen them before, but she couldn't remember.  
  
"Magic Knight, who are you?" Geo had answered this question before, but he hoped to get a better, more in-depth answer this time.  
  
"I am Hikaru Shido, the Magic Knight of Fire, fourteen years old. I come from Tokyo, a city of my world," she had an uneasy feeling, as if she shouldn't be telling them these things. "I was called to Cephiro by Princess Emeraude, the former Pillar." Why could she hear a voice, telling her to be strong and not to forget?  
  
"I was summoned from Tokyo Tower with two other girls, Umi Ruuyzaki and Fuu Hououji. Umi is the Magic Knight of Water; her Mashin is Celes, the Dragon. Fuu is the Magic Knight of Wind; her Mashin is Windam, the Phoenix of the Wind Shrine." Hikaru stopped; there was nothing more that could be related to that question that they would want to know.  
  
"What is your Mashin called?" Geo continued questioning her, the others waited for her answer, and it wasn't long in coming.  
  
"Rayearth, the Fire Lion. He resided in what was once the Shrine of Fire, a massive volcano. I entered and proved myself worthy in a fight of swordsman ship with Dal Lafarga."  
  
"Why are you still in Cephiro? I thought the Magic Knights were supposed to leave after destroying the Pillar." Eagle asked the question that had been bothering him for a while.  
  
"We do not know. Umi and Fuu and I are still searching for the one who summoned us. Only the Pillar can bring the Magic Knights from another world, and yet, we are here now."  
  
"What are your plans for driving out the other countries?" Geo asked, his military training taking over.  
  
"We don't have any. We fight, no matter what happens, we will fight for Cephiro, for our own reasons this time." Hikaru's anger and determination showed clearly in her face as she said this, surprising them.  
  
This is not good. With the Magic Knights so determined to fight, possibly to the death, and with no plan. if they can think fast enough then they can find the best way of handling any given situation, no matter what is happening. Eagle glanced at Geo; they both knew what could happen with a wild card as dangerous as the Knights running loose.  
  
"How strong are your powers?" Geo again asked his question first.  
  
"We do not know. We only know that we cannot fail." Hikaru's face went completely blank as a spark of awareness kindled behind her eyes, flaring and going dark. Her expression returned to the calm created by the drug. But she said nothing more, silently looking at them.  
  
"How did your companions gain their Mashins?"  
  
"Battles, Umi fought with the Palu Ascot and Fuu fought with Caldina."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Zazu looked at his watch; they had spent an hour and forty-five at the questions, leaving them with fifteen. He thought hard, there wasn't much more to find out that he'd be interested in. Or that would be useful.  
  
"We have only fifteen minutes left," he said when Hikaru had stopped answering another of Geo's military questions.  
  
They now knew how many people were in the castle, who they were, what the Magic Knight's favored weapons were, what spells the Magic Knights knew, and so on. Zazu, who was a mechanic wasn't really interested in that sort of thing, wanted to know more about the Mashin, but didn't want to bug Eagle and Geo if they had more important questions to ask.  
  
He waited while the others kept thinking, waiting for them to ask. With ten more minutes to go, he looked expectantly at Eagle. Eagle would be sure to ask something interesting about being a Magic Knight if he didn't have anything more important to ask. Zazu was right, in a few seconds Eagle opened his mouth to talk.  
  
"What does your family on. Earth think about you going to Cephiro all the time?" he stumbled a bit remembering the name of the world the Magic Knights were from.  
  
"They don't know, my brothers were not with me the first time I was summoned and my mother is dead. Father is too busy to really have much time for us. Because the first time we went, nobody noticed anything other than a bright light outside the Tower, nobody knew. I don't think anybody noticed when we left this time. Besides, if my older brothers knew, they'd insist on trying to come, or try to stop me." The gentince must have started to wear off, her voice held a touch of annoyance, but her gentle expression had nothing to do with the drug.  
  
Zazu looked down, two minutes to go.  
  
"Two minutes, Eagle. Should we leave?" he asked, not wanting to face that chilling glare Eagle had worn when he had heard what they'd done. Eagle nodded, not wanting to face the Knight and his friends when he was obviously not able to completely control his emotions.  
  
As he and Zazu left, Geo looked worriedly at his friend, Eagle was acting odd. Something was wrong, and it had something to do with the Knight. But instead of protesting, he merely left.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Eagle watched as the Knight's eyes slowly opened and she became aware of where she was. Those startling crimson eyes that he had noticed earlier looked up at him puzzled, not recognizing him. If she didn't remember. that would create problems far greater than he had anticipated when he had ordered her captured.  
  
Hikaru stared at him, not able to place his face with a name in her memory. In fact, she couldn't seem to remember anything completely.  
  
My name is Hikaru. I can remember that. I am fourteen, I remember that too. But what's happening. I can't seem to remember ever meeting him. I can't remember anything else!  
  
She didn't exactly panic as she searched her scattered memories, but she came close. Even more distressing was that all she could see were snatches of people's faces, a flash of an old emotion. The faces of two girls showed clearly in her memory. They smiled at her and she concentrated on them, trying to remember who they were.  
  
Umi, Fuu!  
  
Her mind yelled suddenly of it's own accord. Startled, Hikaru lost the faces and they blurred out of focus, her memory wandering again.  
  
She saw a beautiful child with long golden hair and tears in her sad green eyes. Hikaru was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, sorrow, and regret. That face too faded after a few moments. The sound of a throat being cleared made her come back to reality with a snap.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Hikaru looked up at the man, curious. She didn't really hurt anymore and tracking down her memories would be done best alone with a certain amount of privacy and silence.  
  
"I'm okay. What happened?"  
  
"You could say it was an accident. Can you remember anything?" he looked at her apologetically, almost guiltily.  
  
"My name, not much else," Hikaru decided to be honest with him, who knew who he was, anyway? She certainly wouldn't be able to remember him even if she tried.  
  
"I am sorry." He smiled at her unhappily, still looking guilty. 


	7. Remebered Scars

1 Note: in the manga Presea didn't die so "Sierra" never existed, and "Hikari" is Hikaru's dog in the manga. I'm not sure how they handled it in the anime so don't write me nasty e-mails saying "That didn't happen! You're making things up again! " Because, if you don't recall, this is my version of the ending. And because I will track you down and steal all your spatulas!! Ahahahahahahahaa! Sorry. I'm really hyper right now! Wheeee!!! (Did I ever put up the disclaimer? If I haven't here it is now: I Don't Own Rayearth, Anime or Manga. Okay, on with it!)  
  
2 Chapter 7: Remembered Scars  
  
Hikaru looked around, still not recognizing the hall she was walking through. She sighed, Eagle had given her a quick tour of the NSX but she still couldn't remember where she was. Maybe it was an aftereffect of losing her memory, but she still couldn't remember exactly where all the twisting hallways led. It made for an interesting time when she tried to reach the dining hall Turning around another corner, she found herself faced with a now familiar sight, another long corridor.  
  
Sighing, she looked down it, it looked the same as all the other corridors she had wandered down. Deciding it would be useless to try and retrace her steps Hikaru started down the long hall. Walking quietly so that she wouldn't disturb anyone, she continued on her ramblings. She saw several doorways but decided against going in any of them.  
  
Walking down the hall just letting her mind drift often brought on fragments of memory. Last time she remembered walking through a large forest, slightly ahead of two other people. But she hadn't been able to hold onto it and her memory had faded, blown away like a wisp of smoke.  
  
This time she thought she saw the halls of what seemed to be a large building, and she felt confused over something, as though she couldn't understand something she had said or did.  
  
As she relaxed and let the memory continue a voice was almost heard, warning her past self about something or someone. Hikaru gasped as the feeling of being surrounded by fire overwhelmed her and was suddenly gone, leaving her back in the halls of the NSX.  
  
She continued her wanderings, left oddly comforted, although she couldn't understand why. As her quiet trip through the NSX's insides went on she began to worry about getting back. But she didn't want to go back to civilization, as she thought of it, just yet.  
  
Even as Hikaru felt that she should at least try to get back, she felt pulled in another direction. She had left the long corridor, moving on through a series of smaller halls and down a sloping ramp. Instead of turning and attempting to go back the way she had come, she continued going. Trusting her instincts, she took sharp right and continued down a shorter corridor. Before reaching the end of it she took another right and found herself standing in front of a door.  
  
The tug at her mind increased and she opened the doors revealing a small chamber. Hikaru entered cautiously, curious, but not curious enough to risk the wrath of Eagle if she interrupted something important. The room was bare of everything except a small table. While her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she stepped forward, making sure nobody else was in the room.  
  
After Hikaru had determined that, yes, there was no one in the room, she looked closer at the table. On it were what appeared to be some bits and pieces of armor. Looking closer at them she noticed that there was only a chest guard, a back guard, and a glove.  
  
Decorating the armor were several large red stones, looking at the stones set in the armor, Hikaru once again had a feeling of de`ja vu. Looking at herself reflected in the glove jewel, Hikaru could see a group of buildings in a clearing. The smiling image of a woman's face swam up to her and she felt content, almost at peace. The image faded, leaving Hikaru smiling at the happiness she saw reflected in the other's face.  
  
Even though the armor and its sparkling red gems seemed to evoke some of her hidden memories, Hikaru felt she really should leave, it wasn't her armor after all. Turning she was about to leave when the reflection of the light on the bright crimson jewel that adorned the chest piece of the armor caught her eye.  
  
Red, the color of a fire eternally burning inside a huge volcano, the crimson eyes of a huge lion staring at me, measuring my soul. The scarlet color of my blood spilled by a sword stroke.  
  
Hikaru almost screamed as the remembered pain of old wounds flashed through her, instead she held it in to a whimper. But as she dimly collapsed on the floor she thought she heard a voice, calling her back. Trapped between the world of her memories and the reality of the cold metal beneath her, Hikaru hesitated.  
  
Her memories overpowered her fragile grip on conciseness and she slipped into an old battle.  
  
I can't move. I can't move! If I move he'll kill them! But. if I don't move soon then I'll lose too much blood!  
  
Hikaru repeated this over and over to herself as the force of the man's sword stroke split the rocks around her. It wasn't any good, she was trapped. Her friends were already hurt; she couldn't use her magic for healing so the only way for her to help was to act as a shield.  
  
The spirit Rayearth was standing on a rocky ledge over head and a little to the left of Umi and Fuu. Dimly, she heard them as they tried to make her stop shielding them and fight. Another blow hit her, opening more cuts. Before another blow landed, Rayearth spoke.  
  
"If you do not move and fight freely, then you will die." He stated it as one would a fact, cold and logical, he looked down at her.  
  
"I'll.die?"  
  
"Yes. Stop shielding your friends and fight. They might not survive but you will." Hikaru shook her head angrily, tears shining in her eyes as yet another blow threw her backwards, blood dripped onto the rocks underneath her feet.  
  
"No! I won't leave them to die! I'll save them!" she leaped forward unexpectedly, surprising her opponent.  
  
Her sight blurred and she whirled away from the images, torn from the memory of the sword fight.  
  
The grasses of the plain whispered quietly in the wind but the three girls on top of the short, rocky spire didn't listen. Gulping, they jumped all at once, hitting the water of the spring beneath them with a large splash.  
  
Straining to breathe, Hikaru was whirled away from her companions down a dark whirlpool. When she was able to look up she saw that she was lying in a large, dark echoing space. She shakily stood up and looked around.  
  
Hearing what she thought was a footstep, Hikaru turned, drawing her sword. In the light of the flames that sprang up around it she could see the dim form of a dog.  
  
"Hikari?" she asked cautiously, it looked like her dog, but.there was a gleam in his eyes that she had never seen before. She was about to let her sword fade when the dog leaped at her.  
  
Hikaru wasn't quite fast enough when she dodged and Hikari ripped her sleeve, barely nicking the skin.  
  
"Hikari?! What's wrong?" the dog merely howled at her and sprang again. This time Hikaru brought her sword up and struck out first, hitting the dog in the side of its neck. The dog was actually stopped in mid-leap; it fell to the ground, panting.  
  
"Hikari?! Are you all right?" Hikaru was almost going to run up to her wounded pet, but Hikari was once again up and again jumped at her.  
  
This time Hikaru was not prepared for the sudden attack and she fell back, trying to dodge her pet. She didn't move fast enough and Hikari's fangs sank into her neck.  
  
"Why, Hikari? Do you. hate me now?" Hikaru asked as she fell.  
  
Hikari's fangs had missed any arteries but Hikaru was bleeding profusely from where both of the fangs had pierced her neck.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Eagle had been searching for Hikaru for about fifteen minutes when he thought he heard the sound of boots clicking on the deck off to his left.  
  
The corridors joined into one just a few minutes walk ahead, he didn't have to hurry. But in a few seconds the sound of steps in the other hallway stopped.  
  
Realizing where that corridor led to, Eagle started to walk faster, trying to find Hikaru. Coming to where the corridors joined, he couldn't see her, but he heard the creak of a door being shut. Knowing exactly which door it would be, he hurried after her and opened it only two minutes after she had.  
  
Eagle stopped when he saw Hikaru staring at her armor, reaching out towards it. Before she could touch it tendrils of flame grew up around her, although she didn't see them. The flames burned brighter and higher, surrounding Hikaru.  
  
When she was almost hidden from view they exploded outward, pushing Eagle right out of the door and back into the wall of the corridor. In a few seconds he had gotten back to his feet and was sprinting back into the room. What he saw stopped him cold in the doorway.  
  
Hikaru was fighting a shadowy apparition that twisted and writhed in a landscape of fire. Somehow the fire had overlaid the floor of the room to look like a rocky mountainous terrain; bright swirls of colored flame drew his attention. One was a pair of blue and green flames that flickered behind Hikaru; the other was a huge swirl of red flame to Hikaru's left. Recognizing her spirit he started.  
  
Could her spirit be causing this? By pulling Hikaru back into one of her memories, could he do this, even indirectly?  
  
Eagle watched as Hikaru, the only solid looking thing, besides himself, in the room shielded her friends, who appeared to have been injured badly, from her enemy's attacks.  
  
But. if being pulled into her memories . will she stay hurt in this reality if she gets injured in her "memories?"  
  
He watched as she was hit by another blow, bleeding freely from several cuts and scratches. The spirit shifted, rather impatiently, or so it looked to Eagle.  
  
"I'll.die?" the question seemed to be directed at the spirit, Hikaru's lips barely moved. The sprit nodded and probably added something else because Hikaru suddenly frowned, bringing her sword up into attack position.  
  
"No! I won't leave them to die! I'll save them!" She jumped forward furiously and the scene dissolved in a sudden shift of the flames.  
  
Eagle watched as she leaped into a spring of water with her friends and battled with a large dog that she knew. Crying even as she slashed at it, Hikaru let her guard drop for just a moment. Seizing its chance, the dog rushed forward, sinking his fangs deep into her neck.  
  
Even as she cried out, Eagle decided enough was enough. She hadn't died in any of her battles, or she wouldn't be there, but watching anybody taking such a beating made even his military side wince in sympathy.  
  
Walking straight into the fire, Eagle broke whatever hold it had on her. Drawing back and away from him, the only remnant of the previous blaze was a wisp of smoke curling up over the armor.  
  
Eagle picked up Hikaru, checking to see if the wounds were real. They didn't seem to have remained, the only sign they had ever been there was the blood dripping where they should have been. Under the blood the skin was uncut and whole.  
  
Sighing with relief, he picked her up and began the long walk back to her room, taking care to wipe as much blood off her neck as he could with the corner of his cloak.  
  
I hope nobody meets us on the way, I'd hate to have to explain this. At least she's okay, for a second there. Eagle let that thought trail off into silence as he carried Hikaru through the halls.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
What was that? I thought I was fighting someone. somebody was trying to hurt us. But try as she might, Hikaru still could not recall who she had been fighting or who she had been protecting.  
  
Realizing that she was being carried as her numb brain began to function again, Hikaru sat up. She was quite startled to see Eagle carrying her.  
  
Wha.? Hikaru stared at him, taken aback by the frightened expression on his face.  
  
"What happened?" she looked at him, he looked calmer as he continued to carry her down the corridors.  
  
"You collapsed," he didn't elaborate further and she wondered what had happened that had shaken him up so. Since he obviously didn't want to talk about it she gave up, but she wasn't going to be carried back to her bed like a child.  
  
"You can put me down now," she protested, and he set her gently back onto her feet. "Thank you." She smiled and started to walk back on the direction of her room, knowing that it was a short distance away.  
  
Eagle walked beside her, still looking concerned and preoccupied and she didn't say anything else as they continued on through the NSX.  
  
I won't ask him about it, but. what happened? I don't understand. Hikaru glanced up at Eagle again, concerned over the fact he wasn't even scolding her for wandering off. 


	8. Reflections of the Past

1 Author's note: It's been about a day since the ending of chapter 7, Chizeta and Fahren are still trying to negotiate with Eagle, and doing a good job of stalling him too. Also, a "mecha" is a robot, it can also be used to describe the Mashin.  
  
2 Chapter 8: The Reflections of the Past  
  
Hikaru stared out the view ports of the NSX, looking at the glowing expanse of road outside. She sighed; it would be ages until Eagle was back from talking with the rulers of the other "countries." Hikaru wasn't sure what these countries of his were, but she didn't want to admit that she had forgotten so much, even to herself. She knew, deep down, that she would eventually have to come to grips with her missing memories, but she had decided to ignore them as long as possible.  
  
Footsteps behind her made her turn, hoping that Eagle had come back already. It wasn't him, just another crew member who looked at her with a mixture of caution and curiosity. Hikaru looked back and he walked on, glancing over his shoulder at her as he went.  
  
I wonder who I was. Everyone besides Eagle looks at me like that. I wonder what I was. How could I make them so cautious? I'm pretty sure I can't be that intimidating when I can't even remember who I am. Why is everyone else so guarded around me except for Eagle?  
  
Finding her thoughts once again turning to Eagle, Hikaru sighed, she didn't understand him. He would look at her almost protectively at times others he would look at her curiously, like she was a puzzle he couldn't figure out. If Eagle was having difficulty figuring her out, she was having twice as many problems with him.  
  
Hikaru waited for a bit longer, lingering, looking out at the road that was becoming more and more like a cage to her. After a few moments she turned and walked the short distance to her room. It was the same small room that she had woken up in. Hikaru wondered why there were no spare clothes for her, right now she had borrowed a uniform from one of the smaller female crew members, her original clothes were being washed, they had been torn and stained but were still good enough to use.  
  
There were other things missing too, there was nothing to show anyone had ever been in that room before she had been there, no personal effects, nothing that could be done without.  
  
A knock on the door interrupted her pondering. She opened it to see Eagle standing outside. She motioned him in and shut the door after he had entered. He sat down on the single chair as she opted for the bed.  
  
"What's the matter?" she was getting good at telling when he was troubled. His face got this closed expression that he never wore at any other time.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"You're lying," Hikaru was going to get a straight answer out of him this time. "What is it Eagle?"  
  
"Chizeta and Fahren have refused to back off," he sighed, as though this was the worst fate possible. "Which means there will be a battle, which means you'll be wanting to fight."  
  
Hikaru considered his statement. She had no idea what the problem with her fighting was, but if he didn't want her to be involved, then she wouldn't be. In her two days of remembered existence, she had learned that what Eagle said was law and if he said "jump" you would have to jump, and you'd best be quick about it. If he told her not to go then she would have to stay.  
  
"I don't have the ability to fight at the moment. I don't know how to run the FTO or the GTO. Unless I had my own mecha before, there is no way for me to fight." He looked at her thoughtfully, as if he were seeing her again for the first time.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
She's forgotten that much? I really hope that I can find a way to fix this. I feel partially responsible, after all, if I had kept a proper eye on Geo and Zazu she wouldn't be like this.  
  
But the thought of having to let her go made him pause, he had become rather fond of her in the short time they had known each other.  
  
I really hope that we can sort this out.  
  
Surprised that he was actually considering her as a friend, Eagle jolted his attention back to Hikaru, who was looking wistfully off into space, no doubt wishing for the memories that she no longer had.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru sighed; she was sitting on her bed, alone because Eagle had left her a time ago. He had looked more troubled when he left than he had when he had entered. Feeling unexpectedly tired, she decided against getting up and doing something. Sighing, she lay down on the bed, but just lay there, lost in thought. She spent hours trying to remember something, from what had happened the other day to before that, but nothing worked.  
  
She looked at the small clock on the nightstand that Eagle had taught her how to use. It would be only a few moments before he was to engage the enemies in their battle; he had told her that they had agreed to battle in a few hours before he had left.  
  
Hikaru sat up and left, anxious to at least see the battle, even if there was no way to fight in it. She slipped off her bed and hurried out the door, recalling the way to the command room in her head as she rushed through the halls. Slowing down before the door to the control deck, she opened the doors a crack and squeezed quietly through.  
  
Standing in front of a large viewing screen that displayed what was going on outside the road were Geo and Zazu, Eagle's two friends. Coming up beside them, Hikaru was barely noticed.  
  
The FTO was battling two ships, one a long dragon-like thing, expelled a cloud of fire at him, the other shielded itself from Eagle's attacks. The FTO dodged the flames and they dissipated.  
  
Hikaru looked at the fire, frowning. The dragon and the fire reflected in her eyes as she tried to grasp the memory that flickered tauntingly on the edge of her mind. She lost it and went back to watching the battle.  
  
Eagle's voice crackled in over the radio system, giving out his observations of the enemies. As he and the two ships battled Hikaru noticed two forms hanging on the outskirts of the fight. They were much like the FTO, two mechas that looked so familiar Hikaru almost said something out loud, but she stopped, trying to recall memories that she didn't have.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Geo was watching the girl, trying to see if she recognized the other Knights. When she seemed to be searching for memories, he got rather worried. If she started to remember things in the control room she could damage a lot of people and delicate equipment. Well, Eagle had warned him this might happen, and had told him what to do if it started to.  
  
Quietly telling Eagle what was happening, Geo continued to watch and wait. In a few moments the FTO appeared to take a heavy hit and the screen went blank. Eagle's voice fuzzed over the radio, explaining that the FTO had gotten caught in a blast, but no real damage had been done. The Knight looked almost disappointed as she blinked at he blank screen.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru still looked at the blank screen, and, for a second, she thought she saw someone, but maybe it was just a trick of the light. She was about to turn and leave, but she again saw something. Stepping out of the viewing screen was a child. She looked rather unhappy, but she smiled when she saw the confused Hikaru.  
  
Stepping completely onto the metal floor, the girl reached out and placed a hand on Hikaru's shoulder. For a minute, Hikaru thought she was falling, but then all she saw was a flash of rose colored light.  
  
In a few moments the lights cleared and she found herself watching the FTO battle with two other mechas, but instead of being in the control room, she was now above the road. As she watched the three mechas fight, the child again appeared beside her. 


	9. Yesterdays' Memories

1 Chapter 9: Yesterday's Memories.  
  
Umi and Fuu waited on the outskirts of the battle, being quietly frustrated. They had come to see if they could slip in and try to enter the road again. Or ambush that annoying robot from Autozam.  
  
As they waited quietly, not quite reckless enough to charge straight in and get hit by three separate attacks, because, as Fuu had put it: "Umi-chan, rushing in and committing suicide because you are impatient will solve no problems."  
  
So they floated there, waiting for someone to win, and/or notice them. Waiting silently was proving difficult for Umi. As she waited her thoughts inevitably turned to her friend.  
  
I wish I could see how Hikaru's doing, just once. Without having to go through whatever the Mashin have to do to us to allow us to go past the road's exterior. Umi was still sore from that experience.  
  
This is really getting us nowhere. I wanted to find out how Hikaru is, but waiting around the edge of a battle is not usually the best way to do that. Fuu's thoughts were running down much the same track as Umi's.  
  
But even as she was about to suggest they go back to the castle, the battle began to break itself up. The robot let loose a storm of large missiles, hitting everything but the Magic Knights, who were fast enough to avoid them. The two other ships, a dragon and an odd structure that looked almost like an ornamental teapot crossed with a gravy boat, as Umi had observed earlier, were severely damaged and started to limp back to their roads.  
  
As the robot began to turn and go back to it's road Fuu pounced. Umi following not too far behind.  
  
"Binding Winds!" Fuu let her spell loose before the robot could slip inside its road. The winds of Fuu's spell wrapped around it, holding it in place. It turned, and faced them, but they were no longer there. Umi had slipped around it, standing between it and it's road.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Eagle had expected them to try something like this, switching off his radio so that Geo couldn't distract him, he turned to see only the green Knight in front of him. The FTO's sensors warned him the other was hovering behind him, keeping him from making a run for it.  
  
According to Hikaru, the green one would be Fuu, Knight of Wind. The other is Umi, her element is water. If that's so then if I hit the wind Mashin, I will be released from this spell.  
  
He readied a missile and was about to fire when the Knight behind him spoke.  
  
"What have you done with Hikaru?" she demanded, pushing forward so that she was hovering just outside the spell that held him. "Why don't you let her go?"  
  
"I will let her go when she wants to leave," he shot his missile at the Wind Mashin.  
  
"Guardian Wind!" the winds around him dropped away then rose up between him and her, the missile exploded far from its target on a barrier of winds.  
  
"What does that mean?" asked Fuu; hardly even noticing that another missile had just exploded on her shield.  
  
"Exactly what I said," Eagle smiled, and continued to fire his missiles.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Hikaru looked at the child, waiting for an explanation. But as she waited, she couldn't help but watch the battle below. As she did so, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the child again, looking at her intently, as though she could see into the other's thoughts and heart.  
  
"Do you remember them, Hikaru? Your friends, Umi and Fuu?" she asked, eyes never wavering from Hikaru's.  
  
Hikaru shook her head, but even as she did so, she thought she heard a far off voice saying, "Hikaru! You ask too much of yourself! You always say that you're okay, but I don't believe you!" "Yes," agreed another voice, "You should take better care of yourself, Hikaru-chan." Hikaru heard her own happy laughter, echoed by the laughter of the two voices.  
  
"Try and remember, Hikaru, you can if you try hard enough." As the child instructed, Hikaru focused on the two voices, and the names the girl had called them. When she did, everything whirled away, shoving her into a whirlpool of images.  
  
Two girls stood beside her, one with long blue hair, and the other with short, bouncy golden curls. The blond one held a bow and shot a glittering arrow at a monster that suddenly appeared before them. Hikaru was surprised as she held out her own sword, ready to fight.  
  
Minutes later, the monster was dead and the two other girls smiled at her and they complimented each other's fighting skills.  
  
The image disappeared in a flash of golden light. Another replaced it. And then another, and another. Soon they flowed together, showing her herself, always fighting together with those girls, always fighting for them. As the last image cleared away, she heard an echo of their voices, "We will always fight, together, always." And suddenly she was back above the road, but even as she gasped, another voice was heard, echoing out of her more recent memories. "It was an accident, I am sorry, Hikaru." And one last image appeared before her, Eagle's face as he smiled at her, explaining yet another gadget to her.  
  
"Eagle," she growled, looking down at the FTO. Before she could even think about trying to go down and fight, a small hand once again touched her shoulder.  
  
"You mustn't try to fight now, Hikaru," Princess Emeraude's voice jerked her around. "I am doing a dangerous thing, pulling your mind out here. If you try to become involved in their fight, I do not know what will happen." Her voice held a touch of uncertainty. "But I do know that if you try too hard then you could make it so that I cannot return you to your body."  
  
"Y-you mean, I'm not really here?" Hikaru asked, looking down at herself, her form did seem to waver, just a little bit.  
  
"You are here, but you are not fully here. I could try to bring your body out of the road, but not without damaging it. And I can't pull it and your armor out here too." Hikaru gasped, looking back at her again.  
  
"I can get my armor back?"  
  
"I can bring it here and you will have it when you wake up. But I cannot promise that its transportation will go unnoticed." Hikaru considered.  
  
"I want my armor back. I can figure out what to do after that." Princess Emeraude nodded and Hikaru's armor, and original clothing, suddenly appeared. Hikaru felt better, more like herself, when they were back on.  
  
"I will send you back now, even I am not allowed to help you past this. But I can give you a word of warning. Your armor has been missed, and time passes differently here, we are seeing everything slower, it's been fifteen minutes since the armor was discovered missing. Your reception there will not be a welcoming one." With that, Princess Emeraude motioned, and Hikaru was once again surrounded by the rose colored lights.  
  
She opened her eyes, and immediately regretted it. 


	10. The Roads We Have Traveled

1 Note: The poem that has been inserted is of my own making, it is called 'Remembering Sorrow.' But that might change. And although I don't own Magic Knight Rayearth, I do own this so please don't take it.  
  
2 Chapter 10: The Roads We Have Traveled  
  
Hikaru opened her eyes and was extremely sorry she had done so, after the darkness outside the road, the bright lights of the room were rather painful. She was back in her room, still wearing her armor, and still with all her memories. Including her memories of the last few days.  
  
I'll always remember  
  
Those happy days  
  
We spent together.  
  
So when the time comes,  
  
We'll see each other again,  
  
Always remember.  
  
The thought of how she had lost her memories in the first place brought her blood to a boil. Angry enough to do some serious damage, she checked to make sure that the door was unlocked. It wasn't. Remembering Princess Emeraude's warning, she realized that they must know by now that she had regained her memories.  
  
Oh well. Maybe I can summon Rayearth here and just force my way out. Hikaru wondered if she could, maybe, manage to summon Rayearth and get out without seriously injuring anybody.  
  
No. too risky. But using magic might work better. And if I can find a large enough space then I'll summon him and try to get out. But. it doesn't look like I'll be able to get out yet. She studied the door, try to gauge its thickness.  
  
Angry enough to try, even if the door seemed too thick, to burn her way out, Hikaru raised her arms above her head, readying her magic.  
  
"Fire Arrow!" the attack hit the door and bounced right back, hitting Hikaru instead. She skidded back a couple of steps, not seriously injured, but quite shocked.  
  
What the. Hikaru looked at the door with an amount of respect in her eyes. If it could rebound her attacks, then it was a force to be reckoned with. Well, so much for that idea.  
  
Sometimes,  
  
A fight you can't win  
  
Will become a victory.  
  
And a dream that is farther away  
  
Than the stars  
  
Is suddenly in reach.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
I'll always remember you  
  
In my heart,  
  
And hate every moment  
  
We spend apart.  
  
I'll always remember,  
  
Inside my heart.  
  
Eagle wasn't too worried about how the fight was going, until Geo's voice came on over the emergency radio. What he said made Eagle bump getting back into the road at once to top priority. So, he stopped just firing a few missiles once and while and attacked all out.  
  
Concentrating on the Mashin behind him, firing a large missile that made her scramble to dodge it, he then rushed for the road. It opened a small portal just big enough for the FTO to squeeze through. Then it closed behind him, repelling the green Mashin as it tried to slip in behind him.  
  
Landing in the hangar bay, he was greeted by both Geo and Zazu. They showed him to the room where Hikaru had been moved, it was almost identical to the other one, but it had a stronger door.  
  
They heard the roar of what sounded like flames hitting the door and rebounding. There were no other sounds from the room and after a few minutes Eagle motioned them away.  
  
When the lightning strikes  
  
And the ax falls,  
  
I'll never forget.  
  
And so when the day comes,  
  
I'll remember again.  
  
"Eagle! You can't go in there alone!" Geo protested, Zazu nodded, for once in complete agreement. Eagle merely looked at them, they all knew who was going to give in first.  
  
After a few moments of a futile staring contest, Eagle entered the room, alone. Hikaru was sitting on the bed, armor on and murderous expression on her soot-streaked face.  
  
When he opened the door she leaped up, drawing her sword and going into a fighters crouch. Before he was even half way through the door she had rushed forward, charging straight at him.  
  
Eagle moved quickly out of her way, farther into the room as the door closed, not exactly prepared for a frontal assault. Not quite quick enough, her sword nicked his cheek, drawing a thin, horizontal line of blood down the side of his face.  
  
Living a lie is harder  
  
Than finding  
  
The way in the dark,  
  
Always remembering in my heart.  
  
Hearing your voice in the wind,  
  
I'll never forget.  
  
Hikaru stepped back, obviously she had expected something more like a couple of well-armed guards, not him.  
  
Eagle looked at her, not completely surprised by her attack. In fact, he had anticipated her making some sort of hostile move towards whoever came through the door first. One of the reasons he had insisted on coming in alone was that he didn't want to have to deal with Hikaru and Geo trying to kill each other.  
  
Looking not only startled but also concerned Hikaru looked at the small trickle of blood trailing down his face. But when she met his eyes her face hardened, she was still angry with him and wasn't about to forget what had happened.  
  
They engaged in a silent glaring contest, neither one moving or speaking. Hikaru looked away first, not releasing her sword, but straitening up out of her crouch. She had attacked on instinct, not because she had wanted to seriously hurt someone.  
  
Sitting back down on the bed, she resumed her new favorite pastime, glaring daggers at Eagle. He shifted, rather uncomfortable at the fact that her sword was still pointed directly at him, even if it's tip had gone a few feet farther back.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell me?" Hikaru's tone was icy and it was obviously an effort for her not to just throw magic at him or just pin him to the wall. Eagle sighed, he hated having to explain himself and his reasons.  
  
"Because it might not have helped. You can't just tell a person what their life has been like and expect them to have the memories of doing the things you told them they did. And." he didn't finish, merely looking off at nothing.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Nothing," he brought his attention back to her, smiling at her faintly.  
  
Hikaru looked at him a moment longer and finally looked down, avoiding his eyes.  
  
"I'm probably making a mistake, but I trust you," she smiled faintly, allowing him to relax a bit. "But that doesn't mean that you've been forgiven." She frowned at him; still angry about the way she had been tricked.  
  
"I didn't expect you to forgive me," He looked at her, she wasn't looking at him, instead she was staring at her feet, an almost guilty expression on her face.  
  
He unexpectedly reached out and patted her on the shoulder, startling her into looking up at him.  
  
"I am sorry," she looked at him a moment, then quietly looked down again.  
  
"I'm sorry too." She turned her face upward again, a wistful smile on her face. "I am very sorry."  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Feeling the burdens  
  
Of the broken world,  
  
They are lighter  
  
Than the memories  
  
In my heart.  
  
I'll always remember you  
  
Inside my heart  
  
So when I see you again,  
  
I'll always remember.  
  
Hikaru paced her "room" again. Although it was the same size as the other one, it was amazing what the knowledge that you couldn't leave did to your perspective. She knew that by now she had probably worn a couple of holes in the floor but she couldn't stop pacing.  
  
Eagle had left, promising to return in a little while. It started to feel like he would never come back when the door opened.  
  
Eagle came in as she looked up. Although it was comforting to see she had relaxed enough that she hadn't immediately drawn the sword, the way she was facing showed that she had been pacing before he had come in. He looked at her, as though memorizing her face. Then he tossed her two small, black objects. One was a clock; the other one was a circular object she couldn't figure out.  
  
"I'm leaving the door unlocked, you should wait for a few minutes before you leave," as he was about to walk out the door Hikaru opened her mouth.  
  
"Eagle?" she tentatively, sounding rather unsure of herself.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Thank you." He smiled softly at her, then turned and shut the door behind himself.  
  
A few minutes later Hikaru's Mashin sped away from the road, back towards Cephiro. Holding the round object Eagle had given her tightly, Hikaru looked at it, trying to find out what it did, and why he had given it to her. As she left the road behind, Hikaru turned to take one last look at it.  
  
"Good-bye Eagle." Then she turned back to the land that held her friends and her future.  
  
Always remembering  
  
Inside my heart.  
  
Finding my way in the dark.  
  
I will always remember you,  
  
Here in my heart.  
  
  
  
2.1 End Part One 


	11. To Forget the Past

Author's Note: Because it was getting too long I have decided to move this fic. into three parts, (maybe just two.) Part 1 is going to be called "Roads" part two, which you are about to read, is called "Journey," and part three will be called "Destination."  
  
Disclaimer: Do you really need to see this? Here it is: I, unfortunately, do not own Magic Knight Rayearth, manga, anime, or OVA.  
  
1.1  
  
1.2 Part Two: Journey  
  
2  
  
3 Chapter 1: To Forget the Past  
  
Hikaru's Mashin landed quietly, Rayearth had said nothing the whole trip, leaving her to her thoughts. Hikaru was grateful, she needed to sort out what she was going to say before she met the others.  
  
As unobtrusive as she had been, Hikaru found a reception committee waiting for her when she left the Mashin.  
  
Hit at a high velocity by two rather large objects, Hikaru was almost bowled over by Umi and Fuu as she stepped onto the castle floor. The other two were practically crying to see her alive and unhurt. Hikaru felt kind of guilty, she hadn't meant for them to get so worried.  
  
Instead of saying anything she just hugged them tighter, and, for a moment, the shadows in her eyes cleared and she smiled. That smile disappeared as Umi released her and began to frown, looking like a thunderstorm about to unleash its lightning.  
  
"Hello Clef, Presea, Ferio," Hikaru smiled, moving past Umi before she could start to even open her mouth.  
  
"Hikaru!" Hikaru winced and turned to face Umi who looked like she was impersonating a volcano about to erupt.  
  
"What is it Umi?" Hikaru tried her best to look innocent and inwardly cringed at Umi's expression.  
  
"What do you think you were doing?! About gave me a heart attack! No word from you for two days and suddenly you show up and look blankly at me saying 'What's wrong Umi?' I'm going to give you a real piece of my mind!" everyone else laughed as Umi threatened Hikaru, who abandoned all pretenses and ran for their room.  
  
"Gosh! I'm really tired Umi! I'd better get some rest!" Hikaru disappeared through the door and Umi gave chase, angry enough to ignore everyone else as she single-mindedly hunted her friend down.  
  
"You wait! I'm not finished with you!" Fuu shook her head and looked at Clef, Presea, and Ferio who were all staring after Umi like they had had no idea she was so crazy.  
  
"I'd better go and see if I can salvage what remains of Hikaru after Umi is finished with her," they chuckled and let her go, Fuu walked calmly after her friends. Following them by the sound of Umi's angry shouts and the bangs that showed that Hikaru had resorted to slamming doors in Umi's face.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru crept noiselessly through the undergrowth in what she thought might be the castle's indoor garden. She had gone right past their room and, she hoped, had thrown Umi off her tail. Silently Hikaru sat down on the roots of a huge tree, resting after her desperate flight.  
  
Sheesh! What's wrong with Umi? I thought I a goner.  
  
It struck her that nothing was wrong with Umi, she was acting normal, well, normal for Umi anyway.  
  
Hikaru jerked her thoughts away from Umi as the sound of someone approaching the tree from behind came to her ears.  
  
Standing up, Hikaru had every intention of quietly slipping off when she saw who it was.  
  
"Lantis?" Hikaru was surprised to see Zazgato's younger brother walking toward her.  
  
Does he spend all his time here or outside the castle? She wondered idly, waiting for him to say something.  
  
Sheesh, I spend a lot of time just waiting for other people to do things. People can be so difficult. I wish this were a battle or something. Even though someone could be hurt, I know what to do in a fight, with people. I just don't understand anymore. How did everything become so complicated? And I'm thinking too much again.  
  
Frustrated by her own thoughts Hikaru drew her attention to Lantis who was looking back at her.  
  
"I thought you had been captured going inside someone's road," he stated, watching her curiously. This small girl had managed to turn even his daily routine upside down when her companions had come back with the news she had been taken.  
  
"They let me go," Hikaru looked away, not particularly wanting to go into the matter at very great detail at the moment.  
  
".You were with Autozam," Lantis stated, startling her into looking up at him.  
  
"Yes." Hikaru didn't say anything else and silence settled between them. He broke it first.  
  
"Quite a fellow, isn't he?" Hikaru nodded, wrapped up in her own thoughts.  
  
"You were there before, correct?"  
  
"Yes," it was his turn to trail off.  
  
"Then, would you know how to work this?" she held out the small sphere Eagle had given her with the clock. Lantis turned it over in his hands, examining it carefully.  
  
"No, I never saw anything like this when I was there," he handed it back to her. She put in her pocket and left it there, disappointed, but not really surprised.  
  
"Thank you anyway," Hikaru might have continued but she heard the sound of Umi's voice, quieter and a bit calmer coming closer.  
  
"Yikes! She's figured out I didn't go to the room!" she turned back to Lantis. "I was never here, okay?" she didn't wait for him to answer, dashing off in the opposite direction as Umi's voice. Lantis blinked after her.  
  
What an odd girl, it's hard to think of her as a Magic Knight. All in all, none of them were quite what I expected.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru was lying down on the bed, resting after eluding Umi and circling back to their room. She would be found eventually, but now she was going to enjoy the peacefulness of being back in the castle. Well, maybe peaceful wasn't exactly the right word, she had forgotten how terrifying Umi could be when she was ticked off.  
  
Umi seemed to have tracked her down once again as the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall and Hikaru sighed, she would have to face them sooner or later.  
  
When did answering my own friend's questions become an ordeal? The door burst open and Umi rushed in, Fuu not too far behind.  
  
"There you are," Umi growled and Hikaru winced, waiting for the hurricane to break loose. It didn't and Hikaru was once again enveloped in her friend's embrace.  
  
After just sitting there being surprised for a moment, Hikaru smiled and hugged her friend back.  
  
"I told you I would manage," Hikaru grinned as Umi released her, inspecting her once again for any injuries.  
  
"I know. But why should we believe you? After all, whenever you are hurt you just keep fighting, unless you're lying on the ground, out cold from overextending yourself," Fuu pointed out. Hikaru looked guilty again, they all knew who was right.  
  
"Well, I did manage didn't I? So why don't you believe me when I say everything will be all right?"  
  
"Because, although you might have made it out fine, you can't blame us for imagining all the awful things that could have happened to you." Hikaru again looked down, should she tell them what had really happened?  
  
I just. don't know anymore. 


	12. In the Silence of My Thoughts

Chapter 2: In the Silence of my Thoughts  
  
Eagle waited quietly for Geo to come out of his shock; they had seen the Mashin leave a few minutes ago. What had made Geo stop cold was that the road had opened to let her leave instead of bouncing her back and keeping her from leaving.  
  
What he had told Umi and Fuu was the truth, Eagle had had no intentions of keeping Hikaru from going back to Cephiro once she had recovered. Until the incident with the gentince he had harbored no delusions that they could keep her from leaving if she really tried hard enough. In the small girl he had encountered a will as strong as his own, if not stronger.  
  
Geo looked like he was coming out of his daze, and coming out mad as a hornet with twice as many stings. Rounding on Eagle, who held up his hands defensively, it looked like all Hell was about to break loose for a few moments.  
  
"You know we couldn't keep her for very long after she got her memories back," he pointed out, stopping Geo before he could even begin his tirade.  
  
"That doesn't mean you should have just let her go," Geo growled, knowing that he couldn't win with Eagle once his mind was made up.  
  
"Oh, and I suppose just letting her find a way to break out on her own and possibly injure someone was a better idea?" Eagle exercised his sarcasm, something that he hadn't done in a while.  
  
"No, but still." he cut Geo off before he could finish his argument.  
  
"Enough, what's done is done. And all the complaints and suggestions anyone might have aren't going to change it." Geo lapsed into sullen silence, but continued glaring for a long time.  
  
* * * *  
  
Hikaru found herself wandering the castle halls, exploring the huge structure while she thought about what she should do. Slightly at a loss after the conversation after dinner she had just started to wander, and she hadn't stopped yet.  
  
The evening had started out innocently enough; she had changed out of her torn clothes into some spare, simple clothes. Although simple clothes were hard to come by in Cephiro, she had managed to find some, with a little help from Clef.  
  
Wearing the plain crimson dress underneath her armor she had gone down into the main hall for some dinner. After greeting, and being nearly suffocated by Caldina, she had run into Lafarga, Ascot and Lantis. Getting her some food, finally, as she hadn't eaten anything for several hours people left her in relative peace while she ate.  
  
But, as Hikaru discovered, conversations during dinner, when mostly all you were asking was if someone could pass you the fruit, and conversations after dinner were two different things. Because she had hoped for more time in which to answer their questions without getting into her time spent inside the road, Hikaru had been reluctant to talk about it.  
  
Helplessly trying to give answers to questions about things she really just didn't want to even think about, Hikaru had eventually begun to find her fragile grip on her temper fraying.  
  
Although she was used to people asking her all sorts of questions, considering her brothers' attitudes, she wasn't exactly pleased with people invading her personal space. Her brothers were family, and although she was fast coming to think of these people as almost family, there was a difference between them asking her questions about her personal life and her brothers asking questions to make sure that she was all right.  
  
Her growing distress had apparently become plain to the ever observant Fuu, who eventually also became slightly distressed. Fuu finally showed a more protective side to her personality and ordered everyone away from Hikaru so she could at least enjoy her first night back in peace.  
  
"Hikaru-chan is tired, I suggest that you wait for her to fully recover before you continue asking her questions." Her exact words, the closest to rudeness Fuu had ever gotten that Hikaru could recall. Apparently it was the closest any of them had ever seen her to being rude and everyone had promptly beaten a hasty retreat, leaving the two of them in peace. Umi had already gone to bed by the time this happened as it was late.  
  
Once they were alone Fuu had turned back to Hikaru.  
  
"I do not know why you are so distressed over all the questions, Hikaru- chan. But if it makes you feel any better I can tell them that you don't want to talk about it," Fuu smiled kindly at her friend.  
  
"Thank you, Fuu, but its all right, really." Hikaru smiled back, relaxing from her tense posture.  
  
"Your welcome, Hikaru-chan. Now, I am going to bed, you should too."  
  
"I will in a little while, I just need to think." Fuu nodded and left, leaving her alone. Soon after Hikaru also left, heading in the opposite direction as Fuu had.  
  
And that was how she found herself wandering around the castle completely lost in her thoughts.  
  
Pulling out Eagle's device, she again searched for some way to work it, though what it did she had no idea. Coming up to a large glass door she opened it, curious, it was another garden. Different from the one near their room, this one had no fountain or pathway, just trees and the occasional expanse of grass.  
  
Hikaru walked quietly among the trees, still holding onto her gift from Eagle. Finding a bench in the center of a small clearing Hikaru sat down. As she did so she noticed a flower much like a rose growing up the sides of her chosen seat. Reaching out to touch the fragile seeming white petals she found out that even roses in another world had thorns. And that, perhaps, the thorns of another world were sharper than those found on earth.  
  
"Oh!" She gasped, keeping as quiet as she could even while she bled. As she grasped at the finger that had been cut she accidentally dropped the sphere on the ground.  
  
With a clicking noise it opened, one half springing off the other as some hidden catch was triggered. Startled Hikaru stared at it, forgetting her cut and all her other concerns. 


	13. Gift?

1 Chapter 3: Gift?  
  
Hikaru stared at the two halves of her once round device. Now that she had managed to open it, should she touch it? What was it anyway? Should she take it to Clef for inspection first? But she hadn't even told Clef what had happened, and to let him examine it would mean that he would have to know exactly everything that had happened.  
  
And how am I supposed to tell him what happened? 'Well, while all of the rest of you were sitting down here worried about me I was fine and happy.' her train of thought broke off as another concept broke right into her pondering.  
  
Happy.? Was I happy there? I believe that I was. I was very happy there, without my memories of the Battle, and with Eagle there with me. I was really happy.  
  
Silencing her troubled thoughts Hikaru stared at the two halves, knowing that she would eventually give in to her curiosity.  
  
She did give in after a few moments of more thought; carefully she picked up both halves, cautious enough to keep them away from her nose and mouth. Carefully not inhaling, she peered into the pieces, looking for something to indicate that there was anything inside.  
  
Deciding that there really wasn't anything to fear about the odd object she carefully probed around the insides of one of the halves. She felt something give beneath her fingers and realized she must have hit a button, almost, but not quite, dropped the device.  
  
Even as Hikaru considered the implications of what she had done by triggering the object the said thing began to softly glow.  
  
She did drop it then, both pieces because they were both glowing. Standing up she quickly stepped back, avoiding the bench expertly. But even stepping away from the now glowing parts did no good.  
  
Before she could even consider moving farther away, the glow extended outward and reached her. Too startled to even cry out, Hikaru was sucked right into a vortex of swirling colors and lights, spiraling downward to end only in darkness.  
  
~ ~ ~ ` ~ ~ ~  
  
Lantis paced around his dark chamber again. Primera was asleep; lying curled up on a cushion on the small, round table. Although everything had resumed its normal routine, or what passed for a normal routine now that Cephiro had no Pillar, he couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling.  
  
That girl, the Knight of Fire. what was her name again? He had heard one of the others call her "Hikaru," or something like that, during dinner. She seemed awfully quiet and reserved for someone who had just spent three days in an enemy's camp and was now returning to her friends and companions.  
  
Meeting someone like Eagle, when he was fighting against you would probably shake up anybody, but. Lantis just didn't like it. Her distress when faced with questions and the mysterious 'silent' period of two days when even the Mashin couldn't seem to talk to her, what he knew about Eagle personally. It all added up to a disturbing picture that he didn't like.  
  
Then there was the little round thing she had asked him about. Lantis hadn't exactly told her the truth when he said he had never seen one before. The device he had seen in Autozam had still been being perfected. They couldn't have finished it in two short weeks, could they? If they had. he suddenly had the urge to find this girl, Hikaru, and look more closely at her object.  
  
Eagle. if you gave her one of those and they haven't been perfected yet. I will not forgive you for it. I'm sorry, but. when it comes to this girl, I simply will not. No, I cannot.  
  
Leaving Primera still slumbering peacefully on her pillow, Lantis took off looking for Hikaru, desperate to find her before she investigated her 'gift' from Eagle any further.  
  
~ ~ ~ ` ~ ~ ~  
  
Eagle sat in his room, reflecting on how to accomplish all the many things he had to complete in such a short amount of time. At least, that's what he was trying to do.  
  
What he found happening almost constantly now was that a pair of accusing crimson eyes constantly interrupted his thoughts. Try as he might, the look of rage and betrayal that he had seen on Hikaru's face would not leave his thoughts.  
  
Touching his hand to the small scar on his cheek, Eagle sat silently in his chair until it was very late, fighting with himself.  
  
It was thus that he was sitting when the black sphere on his desk began to blink. Shaken rudely out of his musings Eagle blinked at it for a second. In seconds he had stood, and grabbed a small note in the process. So he was prepared when the glow of his device reached outward to him. 


	14. Deep Forest

Note: Yes, 'transmitter' is used correctly in this chapter, care to disagree? Look in your dictionary and tell me if it doesn't mean what I say it means. One of the definitions of transmit is 'bring' so it is an acceptable use of the word. (I love thesauruses!) On with the next chapter!  
  
Chapter 4: Deep Forest  
  
  
  
Eagle waited for the swirling colors to disappear, content to be patient for a little while longer. Whenever he came out it would probably be safe, if it wasn't, well, he could take his chances, it wasn't as if he was entirely defenseless.  
  
This transmitter would not transport you to anywhere that existed in any of the physical worlds. Instead it would pick up on the thoughts and dreams of the person who activated it. Made in pairs, each device would become specially attuned to its user, they could be used singly or together. Singly it would move the person into their own private "worlds;" Used together it would take two or more people to one of the bearer's dreams, it didn't matter how many people were moved, the person who activated the devices was the person who determined where everyone was taken. As long as they were activated the transmitters could keep their owners there indefinitely.  
  
Their other quality was that, if one knew how, you could hear the thoughts of anyone who happened to be in that world at the moment. Eagle had spent a few days perfecting that technique with Zazu and Geo, Zazu's thoughts had mostly been about how interesting the transmitter was, he had helped to create it, and Geo had been exceedingly frustrated that he could not master the thought-sensing exercise. In fact, so far, Eagle was the only person who could do it effortlessly, well, almost effortlessly, at any time he wanted.  
  
The lights suddenly flared and then went dim, shaking Eagle about a bit, but he had expected that. What he hadn't expected was to find himself in a darkened field on the edge of a shadowy forest.  
  
* * * ' * ' * * *  
  
Hikaru landed on something soft and rather damp, and, though the impact was softened, she felt as though she had just been slammed against a brick wall. Slightly stunned, she just lay there for a minute, trying to see past the darkness that clouded her vision. When it did finally clear she could hardly tell the difference. Sitting up slowly Hikaru looked around, dizzy and slightly nauseous from her fall.  
  
I seem to falling a lot. Am I getting clumsy? And what happened? Is this even the castle garden anymore?  
  
Hikaru took as good a look around as she could since it was so dark, and determined that, as dark as the castle garden was, it wasn't this dark.  
  
If I'm not in the castle garden anymore but then. where am I? After that thing went off what happened? If Eagle gave me something dangerous then I'll never ever forgive him instead of just never forgiving him.  
  
Standing proved almost as difficult as sitting up had been, but Hikaru managed it in a few short seconds. Slightly winded she pulled out her sword, using it as a crutch to lean on for a few seconds.  
  
In the light produced by her flaming sword she noted that the darkness of the surrounding area was created by the shadows of large trees.  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
* * * ' * ' * * *  
  
Eagle saw the faint red glow of her sword first, coming from the far right corner of the field. Gripping the transmitter tighter in his hand, ready to pull himself back out if Hikaru decided to take exception to his being there, he walked quietly toward where he judged the redheaded Knight to be.  
  
It was Hikaru all right, the gleam of the pale moonlight shone brightly off of her sword, giving Eagle a more exact place to head for. Hikaru had her face thrown back, looking off to the stars, completely unaware that he was there.  
  
"Where am I?" she asked herself, quite oblivious to the fact that she had company.  
  
"I wish I could tell you," Eagle answered, already moving to the side as her sword suddenly flashed through the place that he had been standing.  
  
"Eagle," Hikaru growled, obviously not appreciating the fact he had chosen to be there as well. "If you don't know, then why are you here?" she threw the question at him as she sprang back at him, forcing him to dodge once again.  
  
He didn't answer as he pulled out a his own sword, a little something he had picked up from the stockpiles of the NSX. Hikaru tried not to show her surprise, she hadn't even known that he knew which end of a sword to hold, much less that he could get a hold of a long sword like the one he had just drawn.  
  
"Because you triggered the transmitter. I have to admit, I didn't think you'd be able to figure it out at all," Eagle parried another blow from her sword, not attacking her, merely defending himself against her attacks.  
  
"Then why give it to me at all?"  
  
"I was hoping that you'd give it Lantis, I need to talk to him," Hikaru nodded, her suspicions confirmed.  
  
"I did, he didn't seem to know what it was though." She frowned, remembering Lantis's blank look when she had showed him her little ball.  
  
"I guess he might not have remembered what it was, these weren't perfected when he saw them," Eagle admitted, for once sounding rather unsure as he blocked another blow.  
  
Hikaru suddenly snapped her wrist straight out, hitting Eagle's hand where it gripped his sword. Startled, Eagle dropped the sword and touched the bleeding cuts that scared his fingers.  
  
Panting from exertion Hikaru held the tip of her sword unwaveringly against his neck, just in case he tried anything.  
  
Why do I feel like this is a replay of my fight with Lafarga? I cut his hand too, I almost won then, if he hadn't knocked my sword away.  
  
Her hesitation turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made as Eagle, noting her distraction, flipped backward out of her reach. Grabbing his own sword again he dashed straight for her, moving so fast she barely had time to lift her own sword into guard position before he launched his attack. 


	15. A Night's Wanderings

1 Chapter 5: A Night's Wanderings  
  
Hikaru backed away from the blade that Eagle now used to attack her, never showing the slightest hesitation to go for an opening. She admitted to herself that he might actually be better than her with his sword, he was stronger, that was a fact. Not only was he taller, he was almost as fast as she was, more powerful, and able to put more force behind his blows.  
  
Hikaru was tiring after only a few minutes of fending him off and he didn't seem to be tired at all. Although she was at a slight disadvantage, not only was she fighting in a skirt, but she was tired, she pressed on, using her anger to put more force behind her counterattacks.  
  
They didn't speak at all now, Hikaru continued to glare at Eagle whenever she could and he simply looked back, his face taking on that completely calm look that frightened her a little. Most people, even Lafarga when he was under Zagato's control, showed some sort of expression, although Hikaru admitted that it might be because of the low lighting that she couldn't find any sort of expression on his face, but she suspected that wasn't it. The completely closed look to his face was even more disturbing than his uncanny knack of defending himself against her blows before she could even think of going for an opening.  
  
Fighting almost completely defensively was not the way Hikaru liked to fight, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to kill him either. Even if she had been better than he was, would she have been able to slaughter him?  
  
This is becoming more and more like the battle I fought against Lafarga. I wasn't sure if I should have killed him then or not, though it almost killed me, I'm glad I didn't.  
  
Hikaru once again found that her thoughts had interfered with her fighting. Scrambling to defend herself against another slash from Eagle's sword, Hikaru decided to think about the fight later and concentrate fully on keeping herself alive to think about it at all.  
  
It took about three more moments of fighting before she realized that Eagle was intentionally driving her away from the trees; where as she would have more advantage with her speed and smallness of stature he would have to avoid the lower branches and such. And it was doubtless Eagle knew that and was intentionally keeping her away from the forest for just those reasons.  
  
This is not good! In the dim light it's hard for me to see and I can't tell if he's going to try for an overhand strike.  
  
Hikaru was worried, over handed attacks were her weakness, she just couldn't seem to be able to block a slash that came from above. If she had been taller it might not have been too bad, but with her short stature and the dim lighting it was twice as possible for Eagle to slip over her guard. While such a move would leave him open for a crucial two seconds, it was more likely that he was fast enough to dodge and be able to slip in a blow at her head, and then it wouldn't matter if he left himself open for more then two seconds.  
  
All her worries were once again swept away as they fought silently in the meadow, the moonlight gleaming softly off the swords as they flashed against each other.  
  
  
  
~ ` ~ ~ # ~ ~ ` ~  
  
Lantis walked as quietly down the halls as he could in armor, but nobody else seemed to be awake. He was almost ready to give it up and wait for morning, if the small girl had any sense she'd be in bed, which was where he would like to be, but the sound of almost silent footsteps came to his ears.  
  
He turned to find that small, fluffy thing that everyone called 'Mokona' hopping quietly ahead of one of the Knights. It was the blond, he recognized her as the one who had ordered everyone away from Hikaru for the night.  
  
Instead of moving on, he waited to be noticed, either the girl had really bad night vision or she was so preoccupied that she hadn't seen him, or the black of his cloak blended in with the walls better than he had thought.  
  
Mokona spotted him first, bouncing quicker it drew the Knight straight to him. Bounding up, with a soft "Puu!" the creature clung to Lantis's cape with a tenacity that never failed to surprise him.  
  
By the time he had finished wondering at the little creature's excellent vision the Knight had seen him and hurried forward with a whisper of sound he had fully turned to her, noting the green gems on her armor he concluded that this must be the Knight of wind.  
  
"I am sorry Lantis-sama, I did not see you there," her formal voice was quiet and grave, deciding to let the formalities slide she continued. "But have you seen Hikaru-chan? She has not returned to the room yet."  
  
"Actually, I was looking for her. It does not strike me well that she would wander off," Lantis replied in an equally respectful tone, figuring that it was better to speak to the girl on equal footing. If she wanted to be formal he could be formal.  
  
"Mokona, I think, knows where she is. He has a tendency to find things that others cannot," surprising him with the casual way that she spoke of Mokona, as though it were an old friend, Fuu, he had remembered her name, looked at the fuzzy thing that still swung off the back of his cape.  
  
"Puu! Puu pu!" Mokona appeared to agree and hopped down off of his back, as soon as it's furry little feet touched the floor it took off again, springing farther down the hall.  
  
Fuu hurried after it, silent as a breath of wind, and Lantis, deciding that it was best to follow them, went down the hall at a more stately pace always going just fast enough to keep them in sight.  
  
Mokona led them straight to another garden, stopping at the huge glass door his small cries became just a bit louder and more urgent, Lantis moved faster, coming up behind Fuu as she opened the door. 


	16. Dark Winds

1 Note: Well, this is the last completed chapter, so it will take longer for me to update because I haven't finished the next chapter. I've decided that this part will be longer than the last part so it may take a while! Hang in there!  
  
2 Chapter 6: Dark Winds  
  
Fuu opened the door softly, she hadn't expected Hikaru, if indeed Hikaru was there, to take refuge in a garden. But she trusted Mokona, and Mokona said Hikaru was here or near here, then that was where Hikaru would be.  
  
If the marshmallow was taking them to Hikaru, it had the habit of guiding you to things that you weren't looking for specifically. Like the two- dimensional spring of Eterna, they certainly hadn't been looking for a spring like that. Fuu broke out of her reflections as the door creaked open, revealing a large garden full of trees.  
  
Fuu moved forward, aware that Lantis had caught up and was right behind her and Mokona. The furry thing bounded ahead, the dim light filtering through the crystal ceiling turning it a creamy rose color against the dark grass. Coming into a clearing, Fuu stopped so abruptly that Lantis almost bumped into her.  
  
"Puu! Pu!" Mokona's voice sounded very loud in the silent garden, but the three people didn't notice.  
  
Hikaru was standing by a bench, her face eerily still and calm in the light cast by the two transmitter pieces lying about half a meter away from her. Lantis moved so that he was to the right of Fuu, closer to the devices. Peering at them carefully he muttered something that sounded like a curse to Fuu, who had immediately moved toward Hikaru. She never reached her.  
  
About half a foot away from Hikaru she was thrown backward by a shimmering barrier that materialized between her and her friend. Not done any lasting harm, Fuu picked herself up immediately and reached out to the still faintly glowing shield.  
  
It sparked slightly when she touched it but didn't do anything else, comforting Fuu slightly. Lantis was curiously watching her, knowing he couldn't be of any real help now that some sort of magic or mechanics that he couldn't understand was involved.  
  
"Lantis-sama, would you care to see if the shield extends all the way to the black devices lying about one half a meter away from Hikaru?" she asked, not dropping the formalities, but sounding preoccupied as she rested her hand fully against the block.  
  
When nothing happened, just that her hand seemed to stop in midair Fuu again tried to enter the shield and was again pushed back, although she was prepared for it and didn't fall down again, she did stumble back slightly.  
  
"It does." Lantis's abrupt statement interrupted her scrutiny of the barrier.  
  
"Well, if it can block a physical blow, what about magic?" Fuu asked herself. "Lantis-sama, please step back for a moment." The green winds that had begun to swirl around her discouraged him from protesting.  
  
"Green Tornado!" the attack flew from her hands, clashing against the shield forcefully. Unfortunately it only bounced back, directly at Lantis. Fuu sprang in front of him as quickly as possible, readying herself for another spell.  
  
"Guardian Wind!" the wind of protection that she called up absorbed the earlier attack, and the winds died suddenly.  
  
Looking back at the shield, Fuu noticed it was sparking and flashing all over now, apparently resisting her attack had damaged it severely.  
  
Windam help this work! She silently appealed to her Mashin, knowing there wasn't enough room to summon him.  
  
The crazy idea that had suddenly popped into her mind wasn't going to be the safest and most prudent thing to do, but it was the best.  
  
Drawing her long sword out of her glove jewel, she ran straight at the point that her magic had hit, it was probably the weakest spot at the moment.  
  
Fuu didn't see the ghostly image of a huge bird appear behind her, but Lantis did, and it was the only thing that kept him from interfering. The winds again gathered around her, circling her sword in an emerald light.  
  
Hitting the shield in a burst of green and yellow lights the winds held out for a fraction of seconds, then vanished. But Fuu, gritting her teeth and continuing to move forward, and the bird did not. For about three seconds the barrier remained, then cracks of light spread from where the sword had sunk halfway through.  
  
With a tremendous popping sound the shield shattered into brilliant shards of light, then it vanished entirely, leaving the garden dark except for Fuu's fading bird, that let off a greenish looking glow. Seeming not to notice the light, she stumbled forward a few paces before she could catch herself. Lantis was by Hikaru's side almost as fast as she was.  
  
~ ~ ~ ` ~ ~ ~  
  
Hikaru was failing fast now, each time their swords locked he was able to push her back farther, forcing her out into the center of the field.  
  
She cursed mentally when he slipped past her guard again and cut her left shoulder, the shoulder that was unprotected by a shoulder guard by her armor in the form it was in. Attacking Eagle while he was recovering his balance from his lunge Hikaru slashed forward and down suddenly, trying to get under his sword. It didn't work, he had gotten his balance even while she moved in and had parried her easily.  
  
Their swords locked again and she tried to disengage her blade, knowing that she could never win in a contest of strength. Instead she tried to keep it to skill alone, not a battle where the strongest won, but a fight that relied upon talent with the sword. Sliding her sword straight down his to try and hit his hand again, she found that it worked both ways, and he was faster.  
  
Eagle's long sword had an advantage here, while she would have to move in as close as possible to attack, he could use his superior reach to keep her back. And he used that advantage as often as he could, but Hikaru had been using all her speed to dodge, something that was fast failing as she grew more and more exhausted.  
  
Going right down her sword, his blade sliced at her fingers, not cutting deep enough to even hit the bone, but hard enough to make her stumble back a step. Fortunately she didn't drop her sword, but her fingers throbbed, warning her that one more such cut and she would need to switch hands. Bringing her other hand up to grip the hilt, she took a ready stance, prepared for another assault. It never came.  
  
Eagle straightened, looking slightly upward not quite over her head, lowering his sword. Hikaru cautiously let her sword fade out of her grasp, sensing that, for now, he was too preoccupied to really fight well. And if there was something important that was happening and he knew about it, then it was probable that it had to do with her.  
  
"Your friends have broken the shield," they were the first words that had been spoken since they had started fighting in earnest.  
  
"What shield?" Hikaru walked over to stand beside him, her curiosity overcoming her caution.  
  
"The one around your physical body," Eagle looked at her, then handed her a small folded piece of paper. "Here. Give this to Lantis for me," at that he turned away, walking into the forest.  
  
Just before he was out of sight he hit something and disappeared. Moments later, the forest and clearing dissolved, vanishing in a crackle of flames. Hikaru didn't fall this time but when she opened her eyes she blinked, hovering over her were both Fuu and Lantis, and both of them looked very concerned. 


	17. Classified Information?

1 Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! And to Scathach, I know a bit about fencing and have read the Princess Bride one too many times! Sorry it's so late, I didn't mean to leave you all hanging like that, it just sort of happened! Back to the fic! (Side Note: There's been a change of format! Hope this is easier to read!)  
  
2 Chapter 7: Classified Information?  
  
Hikaru stood with much difficulty, instead of raking her over the coals, as Umi would have, Fuu merely inquired if she was all right and told her that next time she shouldn't be so reckless. Lantis hadn't said anything, merely looked as serious and unreadable as ever. Hikaru was still delighted to see him, if she had to give him Eagle's note she might as well do it as privately as possible.  
  
Fuu continued to hover near, too concerned, or wise, to ask any questions. Lantis had already stood and moved off a few paces to give them some room. In doing so he carefully scooped up the transmitter, closing the halves and sealing it back together.  
  
Hikaru, seeing this, held out her hands and he obligingly dropped it into them, making Fuu frown, but she didn't say a word.  
  
Damn you Eagle. damn you. Noting her angry glare, the blond beside her broke the silence that had reigned since her exclamations of 'I'm fine!'  
  
"Hikaru-chan, is there anything troubling you?" Fuu hoped that she could get at least a partial response from her friend, she received nothing but an empty look from Hikaru.  
  
"No." the short, clipped word made Fuu bowed her head in defeat, knowing that if her friend wanted to tell her about it, then she would, but until then what more could be done?  
  
A small sound from Lantis drew their attention back to him and Hikaru remembered the paper that was clutched in her hand.  
  
"Here, it's for you," Hikaru thrust the paper toward him and Lantis accepted the paper from her without batting an eyelash.  
  
"He said he'd like to deliver it personally but he can't right now," her tone held just the faintest trace of bitter humor. Fuu looked back and forth from one to the other, concerned over the bitterness that was evident in her companion's voice and expression.  
  
"Ah, I see," Lantis read all he needed to know about what would be in the note from Hikaru's voice as she said 'he.' He hadn't known that someone who seemed so kind and caring could be so bitter about anything.  
  
"Hikaru, whatever happened, we'll talk about later, but right now you're going to bed. Don't try to argue, you know that you need to get some rest," Fuu scolded as Lantis nodded in agreement, making the redhead smile shakily and start to walk to the room. Three paces later she collapsed in a boneless heap without a sound or warning.  
  
Fuu rushed forward but Lantis had expected something of the sort and beat her to Hikaru's side.  
  
"Don't worry too much, it's only that she has over extended her heart," he lifted Hikaru as though she was a feather, and then turned back to the astonished Fuu. "Where is the room she is staying in?"  
  
"Follow me, it's not far," Fuu told him, not daring to ask who was this mysterious person that had sent the letter. She privately thought that whoever it was, it wasn't very wise of them to anger Hikaru so.  
  
Lantis heard all her unspoken questions in those words, but didn't answer any, merely followed her and Mokona (who had come out of hiding or wherever it was that he stayed during battles) as they walked quietly through the halls.  
  
? * ?  
  
Five minutes later Hikaru was tucked into the bed, still in her clothes, Fuu hadn't wanted to try and wake her up. Closing the door to the bedroom softly, she turned to Lantis who had been standing in the outer chamber waiting.  
  
He had lit a small lamp and was sitting in one of the three chairs, holding the now unfolded letter that Hikaru had given him. She walked over to him, keeping quiet for fear of waking Umi.  
  
"Here, you should read this," the abrupt statement told her that whatever it was, it was important.  
  
"All right.," Taking the note from him she sat down on the chair beside him to read it. It took her less than two minutes of scanning quickly to finish the front, without pausing, she turned it over and finished the other side, hissing softly between her teeth.  
  
"Poor Hikaru-chan, no wonder she wouldn't talk about it." Lantis nodded, his blue eyes shadowed as he watched her. "You know this Eagle person too, do you not? Is there any chance that he would not be telling the truth?"  
  
"No, he wouldn't lie," Lantis didn't even seem to be offended by her question.  
  
"But what should we do with this? Clef-san, at least, should know about it, if not Umi-chan." There was silence after Fuu's words as Lantis considered.  
  
"Yes, Guru Clef and the other Magic Knight, but I don't think that anyone else needs to know," he said after much thought, quietly breaking the silence between them. She nodded, grateful that he agreed with her.  
  
"Then, if that is settled, I think that we should both get some rest, Lantis-sama," Fuu rose and half-turned to go. "Is there anything else you need?"  
  
"No, thank you," he also turned and strode silently out the door, still holding the paper in his hand, while the Knight of Wind might be satisfied to let things wait for the morning, he wasn't. Traveling had taught him that it wasn't wise to leave important things undone when there was a chance that you might not be able to accomplish them when you planned to.  
  
So, instead of going back to his own chambers he went to the Guru's rooms. Clef now spent most of his time going over old documents and histories, looking for clues as to where the road to the Pillar might be, Lantis was positive that he wasn't getting half as much sleep as most people thought.  
  
His suspicions were proved correct when he reached his destination; light was still seeping from under the door when he knocked.  
  
"Come in," Clef's voice was soft and quiet but Lantis heard him. Opening the door Lantis slipped in almost silently, careful not to get his cloak caught in the door.  
  
"Oh, good evening, Lantis, is there anything wrong?" Guru Clef summoned a chair for Lantis, looking slightly surprised that his former student would seek him out at so late in the night.  
  
"Actually, Guru, there is a small problem," he offered Eagle's letter, having sat down as he spoke. Clef scanned the note, both sides, and looked back Lantis.  
  
"When did you get this?"  
  
"Not half an hour ago, it was given to Hikaru," it was probably best, he decided, not to tell what else Hikaru had gotten from Autozam's commander. Most likely a large headache as well as the transmitter, but then, they both seemed so very much alike. Hikaru always reflecting on what had happened and Eagle always trying to anticipate his next collapse, but then, since they were enemies, it wouldn't be wise to be caught between the two when the inevitable battle came to a head.  
  
"Does anyone else know about this?" Lantis had never thought he'd see his old mentor with his eyes almost popping out of his head.  
  
"Only the Knight of Wind."  
  
"Well, if that's the case, then I believe that Umi, that's the Water Knight, should know too and maybe the Prince. But Hikaru didn't want everyone to know about this so. I think it is best that we keep it as quiet as possible."  
  
Nodding, Lantis soon excused himself from the Guru's presence, saying that they needed their rest. He continued turning everything over in his mind the whole long way back to his chambers, but the only answers that he found were the hollow echoing of his footsteps as they bounced off the corridor's walls.  
  
? * ?  
  
Eagle sighed quietly and slumped back down in his chair, closing his eyes and resting. After a few moments he pushed himself up and changed for bed, with a small amount of effort as his vision wavered and he concentrated hard and drained almost all of his remaining strength keeping the road in place. It wouldn't do to collapse and have to retreat at the moment, he could probably hold the road in place while asleep, it was if he fainted that was the problem.  
  
He slipped onto his bed, pulling up the covers and turning off the single light.  
  
I hope that Hikaru gives my explanation to Lantis, from what I've seen of her personality she wouldn't want to explain anything in great detail. I owe both of them an explanation, especially Lantis, I don't want to have to fight him, but.  
  
Eagle fell asleep, a small frown creasing his face as he thought of what had to be done, even if it meant killing two of his best friends. 


	18. Yet Another Reason

1 Sorry this has taken me so long, I've been fiddling with my format, making it easier to read, I hope. Well, I'm leaving tomorrow for some relative's house, so I won't be able to update much anyway.  
  
2  
  
3 Chapter 8: Yet Another Reason.  
  
Umi was being very quiet and that worried everyone who knew her, to say the least. She had received the information about what had happened without batting an eyelash; Ferio hadn't been too surprised either, only looked like it was what he had expected all along.  
  
They had agreed not to talk about it to Hikaru just yet, it seemed to still be a delicate subject with her. Lantis hadn't come to breakfast at all, and Fuu wondered if he didn't come because he was sure to be treated with pity and suspicion if he did come, or if he was just a solitary person who didn't really like to be around that many people.  
  
Clef was eating a small piece of bread and still watching the roads by way of a portable little mirror that he held the hand not occupied by bread. Nothing had happened since Autozam's road had captured the others, but everyone knew that the period of rest was soon over. Even if the whole day passed uneventfully there would always be someone keeping watch, ready to call if there was any sign of change.  
  
But back to Umi, she was still sitting there, pondering. Fuu tapped her on the shoulder, drawing her attention away from the note in her hand.  
  
"Clef wants us to go back to the large mirror, he wants to give us a bit of information that he's gathered from the library about the other countries and so on."  
  
"All right, Hikaru knows where the dining room is doesn't she?"  
  
"Yes, if she doesn't, I'm sure Mokona will be able to help. And anyway, from what I have gathered from Clef then she should not awaken for several hours yet,"  
  
"Well then." Umi got up and folded the note, putting it down upon the table as she followed the others and Clef.  
  
Hikaru hadn't come down yet, but the Guru said that she would be fine. Symptoms like sleeping for hours and slight disorientation, he said, would be typical and nothing to worry about. She would probably be hungry and come down as soon as she woke up, so they had left a lot of food and some water for her. Fuu closed the door softly after herself and Umi, leaving the hall uninhabited again.  
  
That was before the first of the tremors that wracked Cephiro hit, causing Eagle's note to flutter onto the ground.  
  
~ * ~  
  
At that moment their small redheaded friend was engaged in managing to go down the flight of stairs that led to the dining hall. She had awoken some time before and had almost fallen asleep again but her stomach wouldn't leave her in peace.  
  
Instead of lying around any longer she had gotten up to find some food. But Hikaru had soon found that navigating the castle had been almost as difficult as letting her thoughts continually drift off in a direction that she wasn't too fond of at the moment.  
  
First remembering the way to the kitchens and then getting there had almost made her decide to turn around and go back to sleep. But even as she considered it she felt the castle shake and roll underneath her feet, reminding her forcefully that they had about a week, maybe more before the land fell apart completely and irreplaceably. Knowing that she couldn't fall asleep after that particular realization, she had continued on, trying to keep from falling over as the floor quaked and shook.  
  
After a while these tremors faded but she continued to move as fast as possible, wanting to find Clef and some food quickly, then, if she could, go out in her Mashin and really help Cephiro. Not harm it the way they had last time.  
  
But.should we really want to help a world that exists only with the sacrifice of these people, these 'Pillars?' We can't just leave it like this, but. it's not right. She wasn't going to say 'fair.' What had happened with Princess Emeraude had shown her that not everything, perhaps nothing, was fair.  
  
When Hikaru finally reached the dining hall she was surprised to see it empty. Some of the plates had fallen to the ground, nothing was broken but she decided that it would be better to pick things up first. If another earthquake hit then she didn't want to trip on plates and such.  
  
With a sigh the Knight bent down and began to pick up the dishes and a pair of chopsticks that had also slid off the table. That was when she noticed that a piece of paper had also drifted to the floor. Curious she put all of her load on the ground and scooped it up, straightening she held it up so that she could read it.  
  
It was after reading it that Hikaru decided that she wasn't fighting completely for Cephiro and Princess Emeraude anymore. Now she was fighting for all of her own reasons.  
  
"Lantis,  
  
I hope I was able to deliver this myself but that might not be possible. If it isn't then you will have received this from Hikaru and she'll be ready to kill me at the moment. If that is the case then I don't blame her. I do, however, want you to know what happened. I feel that I at least owe it to you since, well, never mind. Call it a repayment for the favor that you did me.  
  
I regret to say that I wasn't as careful as I should have been and I allowed some of the more independent thinking crewmen to get ideas. Unfortunately those ideas included gentince. They also lead to an overdose and a short period of memory loss.  
  
It only lasted a day or two but I fear that Hikaru feels that she should have known all along and that she won't say anything about what happened. I'm certain that she will be even more angry with me if she reads this, but that isn't really important. I need to finish this or it'll take up three or four pages of paper that I do not have. I think that we will be seeing each other soon though.  
  
Eagle Vision"  
  
Hikaru found herself resisting the urge to call out her Mashin and leave the castle to immediately pay Eagle an unexpected visit. Her hand clenched around the letter, crumpling it as she controlled her anger, deciding that, since it was in the dining hall, the others would know what had happened.  
  
Holding the paper in her fist Hikaru was surprised to see that it was starting to turn black and looked singed even as she held it. She looked closer and it instantly burst into flames, she watched in bewildered amazement, as it burned the letter to a scatter of pale ash in her hand, but she couldn't even feel it.  
  
Oh.I must be using my magic. But, how does magic sense its wielder's intentions? And why would it burn Eagle's note without me commanding it? Opening her hand from its closed position, Hikaru watched the pale flecks drift down to the floor.  
  
Turning she caught a flash of motion out of the corner of her eye. Moving closer she blinked.  
  
"Mokona?"  
  
Lantis was ignoring the winged annoyance that persisted in fluttering about him, patiently refraining from just walking out of his rooms and shutting the door before Primera could follow. Instead he merely ignored her chatter, and worked on his map.  
  
Since he had to find the road to the Pillar before anyone else found it he was making a map. Showing how much ground he had covered in a day, since Cephiro was collapsing he had started at the outer edges and moved inward. But, much to his dismay, he had discovered that the perimeter was slowly following him, the land crumbled beneath him and after a while he would retreat back to the castle, more and more discouraged as the hours went by.  
  
A soft and consistent tapping on the door brought Lantis out of his thoughts and back into reality. Opening the door he didn't see anything.  
  
"Puu!" cried a small furry object that suddenly shot straight up at him.  
  
Lantis looked down at the fuzzy creature that was now clinging to his shoulder, happily swinging around as he turned and closed the door again.  
  
"Yikes!" shrieked Primera as she saw Mokona. "Why me?" she moaned again as the fluffy marshmallow bounced off Lantis and rushed toward her. Ignoring them the swordsman looked back at his map.  
  
"Pu! Puu pu pu!" He turned around again; about to politely request that they keep it down, not that it would do much good.  
  
However, he found himself faced with Mokona, who was standing on the table in front of him and looking completely serious as well as worried. He knelt next to it, completely disregarding Primera's tearful pleas to get rid of it.  
  
"Pu!" Lantis watched with a flicker of interest and surprise trailing across his face as Mokona's jewel changed from bright red to a swirling dark sable color. "Pu puu pu pu!" 


	19. Summoning Flames

Wheee! New chapter! New chapter! I have finally defeated the evil writer's block! I just wanted to thank everyone for reviewing! This chapter might seem a bit odd, it shows a few things from the last chapter that I didn't write about but please bear with me! Besides its nothing really big, not like the small sentence I changed in the beginning of chapter 6, which you should reread if you didn't notice. Also, some of Eagle's fight scene with the other 2 countries is taken almost directly from the manga. (Don't kill me if you want to know what happens!)  
  
Chapter 9: Summoning Flames  
  
Primera was strangely silent as Lantis watched Mokona's jewel change colors, shifting from a fiery red into the muddy sable color of spilled blood. It seemed to Lantis that some one was speaking from a great distance, trying to make him hear. He strained his hearing, not quite able to understand the words.  
  
It took him a moment but at last they rang clear in his mind. When he found he could hear them he also thought he saw a half-formed picture in Mokona's jewel.  
  
"How dare Eagle? I would have told them in my own time, my own way! What right does he have to interfere anymore than he has?" Hikaru's angry voice asked him. In Mokona's picture he saw her with her head bowed, fist clenched around the letter from Eagle.  
  
"How could he? I've no doubt he feels responsible for it, but can't he leave well enough alone?"  
  
"Yes, but were you really going to tell them? You know that you were considering 'leaving well enough alone' and— " Another voice broke in, still sounding like Hikaru, but slightly calmer and less angry, sounding more reasonable and collected, and self-righteous.  
  
"Who wouldn't?" The first voice broke in, now sounding even angrier.  
  
"Ah, I forgot. Real Magic Knights don't get themselves captured and get amnesia. Forgive me for hurting your pride," The second voice now took on a slightly mocking cast, daring the other to disagree. There was a slight pause.  
  
"You're right. I was thinking more of my pride than of my friends," Lantis decided that listening to someone argue with herself was unnerving at best and frightening at worst. "But Eagle still has no justification for what he just did!"  
  
"Maybe not, but— What are you doing?!" Lantis saw the note catch fire and burn, not even touching Hikaru. His blue eyes narrowed, thinking.  
  
"Nothing, I think that was the magic reacting to our emotions," here the first voice sounded decidedly smug.  
  
"You used magic to burn a note! Why?" The other voice, sounding scandalized shouted at the smug one.  
  
"I didn't mean to! It was an accident. Although, that does look kind of interesting, I mean, how many times do you get to see a piece of paper burn in your hand and not get hurt yourself?"  
  
"Never mind, just don't do it again," here voice two, who Lantis called reason, sounded exasperated.  
  
"I won't! Promise!" Voice one, emotion, as Lantis thought of it now, sounded happy to have gotten so lightly off. "But what do we do about Eagle?"  
  
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."  
  
"But— What was that?" Emotion didn't get a chance to finish.  
  
1 "Sounds like Mokona…"  
  
2  
  
3 The voices stopped and the picture of Hikaru looking up at what must have been Mokona vanished, leaving Lantis back in his room, staring at the fuzzy creature.  
  
"What was that all about?" the castle shuddered and Lantis turned to look out his window. "We're under attack!"  
  
"Puu!" Mokona jumped up and down in front of him, holding something small and dark in its paw.  
  
* * *  
  
"Magic Knights. The enemy once again approaches Cephiro," Celece's voice broke into the respective musings and thoughts of the three girls.  
  
Three blades were drawn and the Mashin suddenly appeared above the castle.  
  
"Rayearth!" "Celece!" "Windam!" The Spirits immediately soared forward, ready for battle.  
  
Eagle was getting annoyed, although he took pains not to show it. Fahren's princess, a little girl who seemed to be no more that eleven and no less than nine, was distinctly stubborn and unyielding in her instance that she was right.  
  
He had found out what the people of Chizeta wanted, the two young women from there had been perfectly straightforward. He had, however, given them something to consider as well.  
  
Since they wanted to have Cephiro for a colony of sorts, they also wanted the Cephirans there. But, if they tried to land on Cephiro, there might be battle and they could end up killing most of the people now that they had all retreated into the castle. They had then asked for time to think and he had given them an hour and a half.  
  
Now Eagle was about ready to yell with frustration, the child was unwilling to get past her own needs and wants to the larger picture, with someone like that for a pillar then the Magic Knights would be summoned within a week.  
  
I wonder… suddenly he hit on perhaps the way to make her see how risky becoming the pillar was.  
  
"Lady Aska, if you do invade and conquer Cephiro, what happens to Fahren, your own country?" Eagle watched as confusion clouded the eyes of the younger leader.  
  
"I- I do not understand the question," her voice calmed as she tried to figure out just what he was trying to do.  
  
"When you invade Cephiro, and if you become the pillar, what will happen to Fahren? Will you abandon it for Cephiro?" Eagle resisted the urge to smile. Checkmate. He thought in satisfaction.  
  
"Why should I abandon Fahren? Even if I was the pillar?"  
  
"If you let your heart turn elsewhere, focusing on something besides the welfare of Cephiro, then it will crumble and become as you see it today."  
  
"…" Lady Aska nodded. "Very well, how much time will you give us to decide?"  
  
"An hour." That should time it about right…Chizeta and Fahren will answer just about the same time. "But be warned. If you continue your attacks on Cephiro, then first, you must face Autozam," Eagle got up from the command chair and walked away from the bridge, leaving three stunned people behind him.  
  
Zazu killed the online screen but kept the link with both the Dream Child and the Bravada. Wow! Eagle handled that last one nicely, no wonder his father the president wanted him to stay. He must be great in politics.  
  
"Wasn't Eagle frightening when he said that?" He turned to Geo. Geo didn't answer, staring after Eagle with a disturbed expression on his face. "Geo?"  
  
"He's hiding something from us," Geo's expression changed to a thoughtfully disturbed one.  
  
"Huh?" Zazu couldn't fathom what Eagle would want, or need, to hide from them.  
  
"Never mind lets check the weapons systems again." They went back to work, but Geo continued to wear a thoughtful look, long after Zazu had forgotten about it.  
  
He smiled when that one princess from Chizeta asked him what exactly Autozam wanted from Cephiro. And if it was willing to give up a life for it. Why would he smile instead of answering? He is definitely hiding something, and I'm going to find out.  
  
While Zazu left to get them something to eat, Geo carefully accessed the records of the crew.  
  
"Get me Eagle's health records online in thirty minutes," he told the computer, glancing at his watch in the process. That should be right before he comes back to the bridge.  
  
The crew was still making last minute checks half an hour later, but Geo managed to slip away from them to his own computer consul to check. It had finished downloading Eagle's data just moments before.  
  
"Computer, please open…" Geo said quietly, and it was lucky that that he did so because Eagle had just walked in. Geo panicked and canceled the request, bringing up information about the weapons check so that Eagle wouldn't know what he had been doing.  
  
"Are we all set?" Geo turned toward Eagle, and he saluted.  
  
"Everything seems to be in order."  
  
"Very good. Zazu, open communications with the Dream Child and the Bravada," Eagle looked up at the main screen.  
  
Lady Aska of Fahren appeared first, looking thoughtful and completely serious.  
  
"We will continue on to Cephiro," Eagle noted that she hadn't said that she still wanted to be the pillar and he smiled faintly.  
  
"So will we." Chizeta was also online.  
  
"I understand. Then, let us begin," all traces of a smile vanished from his face.  
  
Hikaru watched as all three of the roads thundered downward into Cephiro's darkened skies.  
  
"Here they come!" Umi shouted and they got into their separate attack positions, but Fuu had other ideas.  
  
"Guardian Wind!" the protective shield rose to meet the roads. They halted for a moment and seemed to bunch up, then crashed right through.  
  
Hikaru was about to use her fire magic when the Dream Child, Bravada, and NSX broke out of their respective roads. She targeted the NSX, confident that the FTO wouldn't be long in coming.  
  
"Let me handle Eagle! I know his fighting style better than you," she yelled to her friends as, true to her guess, he appeared.  
  
Immediately she went on the offensive, rushing forward before he could pinpoint who was where.  
  
"Fire Arrow!" the flames shooting from her hands hurtled straight at Eagle. But before they could hit they were deflected by a shield that seemed to have been created by nothing in particular.  
  
"Fuu?! Did you get what that was?" Hikaru asked over her shoulder, blocking a missile that Eagle had just fired at her with her sword, slicing it in half and moving away so as not to get hit with shrapnel.  
  
"Yes! The shield seems to have been created by the small bee-like mechanisms swarming about the FTO," Fuu's calming voice helped Hikaru force down panic.  
  
Now she merely dodged the missiles and other attacks he threw at her and concentrated solely on getting a lock on the tiny robots that flitted around Eagle.  
  
"Scarlet Lightning!" The spell hit one and it blew up. Got you! But no matter how many she 'killed,' another was always there in its place. And now she had other worries.  
  
The other countries had apparently recovered from the bumpy ride down and were now ready for battle.  
  
Something akin to a huge fireball shot out from the Dream Child, making straight for the NSX. Eagle, however, was still in command of things.  
  
"Fire the Ragna Cannon," in seconds a huge blast of energy clashed with the ball of fire, and dissipated it, then continued its destructive path. The resulting explosion rocked the red dragon ship and sent more pieces of metal whizzing in all directions, the Knights scrambled to avoid the larger chunks.  
  
The Bravada, seeing the Dream Child take such a heavy hit, put up some sort of barrier; but that didn't last long against the onslaught of missiles that Eagle sent off in their direction.  
  
Hikaru had zapped several of his little shield creators, but there were still a lot of them left.  
  
"Fuu, Umi! Can you distract him for a moment?" she asked, edging in closer to the FTO while its attention was elsewhere.  
  
"I guess so…" Fuu said, sounding rather unsure of herself.  
  
"Well then? What are we waiting for?!" Umi asked, drawing Eagle's concentration away from them. "Water Dragon!"  
  
"Green Whirlwind!" As the attacks flew at the FTO, Eagle turned so that Hikaru was to one side of him, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Nice try Eagle. But you expect me to use my magic don't you?  
  
"Ice Blade!" Hikaru waited for the right moment. Now! She ran forward, charging him with her sword. I'll got you this time!  
  
But even as she moved the FTO seemed to blur for a second, then disappear. What—!! Hikaru's surprised thought was interrupted by the sensation of being pulled into something. It's just like when I was pulled into the transmitter thing of his! But, Lantis picked mine up! How could Eagle—?! 


	20. Notification

Okay, so this isn't a real update, what this actually is: a note informing everyone that this story will be discontinued. I have decided that this version of the story isn't all that good, the plot has kind of wandered and I haven't been so good at keeping it up. Since I feel really, really bad about letting you all down, here's a bright spot: I have already begun a rewrite! This new draft will be called 'Wish' and will follow an outline that has already been completed. The prologue will be posted tomorrow and chapter one will follow shortly! I hope I haven't broken anyone's heart or anything! Bye! ^_^ Magi 


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